I Thought About You
by bouquetmydear
Summary: Brittany and Santana meet at NYU and something just clicks. Brittany is a dance instructor who doesn't have the slightest idea about what love, or lust, is. Santana is guarded by her own walls, but when she meets Brittany, all of her defenses sort of crumble. In a city over-populated with people, two of them find a connection that they never could have dreamed up.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first FanFic ever and I am by no means a writer, but I thought I would give this a try. I hope you guys like it! **  
**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY, I JUST CAME UP WITH THE DIALOGUE AND PLOT. All rights are reserved to Fox, Ryan Murphy, and all of the other people who created this glorious show. **

**xBx**  
I lifted my left leg and tucked it across my waist, as if I was going to sit crisscross applesauce. The burn from re-doing this routine so many times shot through my upper thigh, and my legs felt as though they were going to fall off at any moment.  
I was alone in the studio for the third night in a row because my dance instructor said I lacked passion. I've have been dancing since I was three, I was the only person in my class that had been recruited to join NYU's dance department as a freshman, how did I lack passion? There was a recruiter at my senior recital in Lima, and I didn't even know about it until he beckoned me over right after I hopped off stage. The idea that a recruiter had just happened to check out the recital because he was in town had to be more then luck, the idea that he picked me out of everyone, the idea that someone could actually believe in me enough to offer me a scholarship to NYU, was absolutely mind-blowing.  
My dad had attended maybe two of my recitals, and both times were because Lucy's, a girl I dance with who normally just picked me up, car had broken down. When I told my dad about the scholarship offer, I was beaming. The thought that maybe, just maybe, a full-ride scholarship to one of the most prestigious schools in the country would make him proud of me, but he said nothing more than "wow, so that will cover the cost of your college? That's great, when do you leave for school then?"  
I moved to New York just a few days after my high school graduation, there was nothing keeping me in Lima other than Lord Tubbington. I was hired at a nearby studio when I moved, and lived about three blocks away. I had become work friends with Mike, who attended NYU but he was a junior, so I would never have any classes with him. The school semester was just about to begin and Mike said that work was about to be in full-swing, which I didn't mind, I didn't really have anything to do once I got of work anyways. The only place I really went to was a club that was like four blocks away from the studio, but I always regretted going out, due to the amount of times I got hit on. It was gross. I had never been in a relationship; I had never even slept with anyone. It was pathetic; I was about to turn 20 and the idea of touching someone like that scared me. The idea of someone touching _me_ like that was terrifying.  
_I've been on my own, too long  
And when you hold me, like you do  
It feels so right, oh yeah  
I start to wonde-_  
I stopped my movements and shut of my iPod dock once I noticed the clock on the wall, it was 1:27 in the morning on the Sunday before school started. Mike had trusted me enough to give me a key to the studio, as long as I locked up before I left and made sure the floor was empty for his morning class. Mike was a good guy, and he was dating a girl named Tina, who I had seen a couple of times at the studio. I liked that he didn't flirt with me.  
"What am I doing wrong?" It came out as more of a defeated whisper than I had expected. I think my lack of sleep was starting to take a toll, so I swept the floor, shut off the lights, and locked the studio doors. It was the beginning of September, and the air seemed cold and un-filtered, like I was standing near a coal mine that had just collapsed, while drinking water after chewing minty gum. I still wasn't use to the thick city air.  
I walked up the two flights of stairs to my unbelievably small apartment, it was still better than the dorm, though. I don't think I would be comfortable enough to share a living space with a stranger, especially if I didn't like them and had to suffer all year. Paying rent was a small price to pay for my feeling of comfort. I unlocked my front door and slipped inside. The warmth of my familiar room made me feel heavy, my legs and abs were dying for rest, so I brushed my teeth and curled up under my blankets. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.  
**xSx**

* * *

A pair of hands wrapped around my waist, and I was pulled into a body. The grip on my waist tightened and I could feel the guy's hips start to sway and grind into me. I turn my head to match the hands with a face, and as soon as I did, I was over-taken by the strong smell of his cologne mixed with his sweat, the combination made me nauseous.  
"Not tonight, Puckerman." I had to speak louder than normal because of the music.  
"Come on, Santana, you can't keep playing hot-n-cold. Last week you were all over me at that party." Puck's eyes lacked emotion, even though his words sounded harsh. "Your clinginess is all sorts of unattractive, plus, we were both trashed and you were being persistent so I gave in. Sue me for being horny." I don't get why he is so into me, I mean, yeah, I'm a hot piece of ass, but I don't do feelings, and he knows that.  
As soon as I said those words, his hands dropped from my side and he leaned in closer to my ear. "You can't just sleep with me and then expect me to not want more, Santana. You're hot, I'm hot, I don't understand why we can't just try us out." Puck said, his words sounded rushed but sincere, and the vacant look in his eyes was replaced with a look of sadness? "I really like you, Santana, and by the sound of it, you really liked me the last time we hung out." His cocky tone made me sick.  
"Honestly, Puck? You get all sweet and sappy on me and then use a disgusting one-liner in hopes of getting me to sleep with you? Yeah, no thanks. You know, this conversation has totally ruined my mood, awesome. I'm just going to go home, go pick up the red-head at the bar that has been staring at you for the past 5 minutes" At the mention of an interested girl, Puck turned and walked away. Gross, he was gross, and I didn't like his incessant pleading for me to sleep with him, it was annoying. Why do people have to ruin everything by mentioning feelings?  
I spun on my heel and headed towards the familiar bar. Sam and Quinn were working behind the bar tonight, I had gotten off about an hour ago and decided to have a few drinks and dance for a while. The biggest perk of working at a bar are the free drinks and the idea that if anyone gets too handsy with me, I know that Sam or Blaine will step in. I slipped behind the bar and tried to remember where I had placed my wallet. It was lying on the shelf next to the container of lemons and limes. Sam saw me eyeing it and picked it up for me, along with a lime for a drink he was mixing.  
"Thank you, Sam. I'm actually going to head home, my first class starts tomorrow at 10." I smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. I think out of everyone in the world, Sam is my favorite person, he is like a brother, and I honestly love him to death. The fact that he doesn't have a girlfriend is astounding.  
"Night, San, love you!" Sam yelled as I was leaving the bar.  
"Everyone loves me, babe" I sent him a playful smirk over my shoulder and closed the door.  
I took a left and headed towards my apartment, it wasn't far from the bar at all, so I never had to worry about calling a cab. The cold September air felt refreshing against my hot skin that was slightly sweaty from the bar. I always loved my location; NYU was just a few blocks away so I didn't have to bring my car when I moved. I turned left and walked up the stars to my apartment, it wasn't big, but I didn't care. The small space made me feel less lonely because there literally wasn't any room for another person.  
I unlocked my door and checked the clock; it was a little after 12, so I got in the shower and got ready for bed. I didn't realize how tired I was until I slipped under my covers. I set the alarm on my iPhone and went to bed. I needed to get all the beauty sleep I could, you never know who you are going to meet the first day of classes.  
**xBx**

* * *

I rolled up in all of my blankets in my final attempt to muffle out the banchi-like cries coming from my alarm clock. I seriously want to punch whoever invented that sound directly in the butt, a punch to the butt is always so unexpected, it is the perfect attack because the victim never stays mad for too long. I finally gave in and rolled out of bed. I walked out of my bedroom in a fuzzy haze and went to the kitchen to make coffee. I always contemplated visiting Kurt's coffee shop and buying a cup, because I only drank one cup but I couldn't afford one of those really cool single-serve machines, and I loved Kurt. I'll definitely ask my dad to get me one of those for Christmas, he never knows what to get me, and my closet cannot fit anymore hideous hand-knit sweaters. I made the mistake of saying I loved the first one he bought me, and now I get multiple each Christmas.  
The weather was supposed to be high 50's to low 60's throughout the day, so I decided to wear my dark-blue skinny jeans, a long sleeve white shirt that had a little yellow duck directly in the center, and my canary yellow zip-up sweatshirt.  
My first class was from 9 to 10, it was anatomy 121 and the adviser said it was a common class that dance majors took. I started walking towards campus with my laptop slung over my shoulder in a messenger bag. I wasn't really nervous, I mean I am a dance major and one of the heads of the department thought I was good enough to give a scholarship to. Plus, I had been stepping in on a few classes at work so I got to dance every day in a nice studio, I use to only dance three times a week in the studio in Lima.

* * *

**xSx**

9:28. It was 9:28 when I looked at my phone that apparently died during the night because I forgot to charge it. Awesome.  
"Shit. Well this is great, I'm going to look like shit of my first day and be late." I huffed to myself and threw on a pair of light-blue jeans and a red v-neck with my light leather jacket. I combed through my hair and decided I'd just put it in a loose side braid. I put on light makeup, brushed my teeth, and sprinted out the door.  
When I got to the door of my psychology class I was out of breath. I checked my phone; I was 16 minutes late to the first day of class. Way to go, Lopez, way to go. I slowly opened the door to the class and stepped in, the teacher was mid-sentence when she looked over at me and tilted her head, silently telling me to take a seat. I looked around the room quickly and my eyes locked onto the bluest pair of eyes I had ever seen, I let my eyes zoom out and take in the other features of the girl's face. She caught my eye and gave me a tired smile, but her eyes looked like they were glowing. The teacher must have noticed my hesitation, because she cleared her throat and drew me out of my daze. I sat in the first open seat next to a brunette who was the human reincarnation of Squidward. The blonde was a few seats away and when I sat down and looked her way, she quickly turned her attention elsewhere.  
The brunette leaned over and out of my peripherals I thought her schnoze was going to hit me in the face, so I casually leaned away. I don't think she got the hint, because she just leaned in closer and whispered into my ear.  
"Hi! My name is Rachel, I just wanted to say that you shouldn't worry about being late to the first day of class, Mrs. Hudson won't mind. I did a quick, but thorough, background check on her, and I found out that she was suspended because she had marijuana in her shoe when she was a senior in high school. She then "turned her life around" and became a professor. I'm am 73 percent sure that she still smokes marijuana, though." Rachel ended her small rant and smiled brightly at me, but it slowly started to fade. I'm sure my eyebrows were raised and I was giving her an incredulous look. She didn't say anything after that.  
I glanced over in the direction of the blonde and she had her bottom lip tucked into her mouth, like she was trying to hold back a laugh. I wondered what she was laughing at until she slowly took her eyes off of mine and looked at Rachel. I could feel my eyebrows start to relax back to normal and the corner of my lips to twitch up into a smile.  
**xBx**

* * *

Anatomy 121 was definitely not easy, on the first day of class the professor made us take a quiz that would show how much we knew about the anatomy of the human body. I am pretty sure I got a zero, the only anatomy I know is of a cat, and it was really hard to find the different body parts on Lord Tubbington because he is a little on the heavy side.  
My psychology class was really close, so I was one of the first people in class. I decided to sit in the middle, because that way I would get to meet two people instead of just one. The professor, Mrs. Hudson, started with the basic introductory lecture, and I found myself completely zoned out. I was in the middle of asking myself whether or not carrots would be good dipped in chocolate, when the click of the door snapped me out of my daze.  
My eyes slowly glanced up from the desk in front of me, to a girl in a red v-neck. This girl looked just like Emily from Pretty Little Liars, and I actually thought it was her for a second, but when her eyes caught mine, I could tell that she was even more beautiful than Emily. Her cheeks looked flushed, like she had been running here and I wasn't sure why until I checked my phone, she was like 20 minutes late. I flashed her a small smile because I didn't want to look like a creep and start beaming at her. For a second I thought she was looking straight through me, but then her eyes seemed to flash up and down quickly, she was looking at the rest of my face. I started to feel my face getting hot, and was extremely happy when the teacher coughed and regained the girl's attention.  
I looked at the front of the class, but I could feel my eyes start to slowly rake over to the girl. As soon as I looked her way, she tilted her head in my direction, and my face whipped to the front of the room again.  
I have heard of people being bad whisperers, but I had never actually heard someone be so bad at it in real life before. I casually looked to my left and saw the really pretty girl's eyebrows raise, and a confused, yet slightly annoyed, look grace her face. The brunette next to her was leaning extremely far over to practically yell-whisper into her ear. I tugged my bottom lip into my mouth and caught the brunette's eyes for a third time. I tore my eyes away from her and looked at the whispering brunette and then looked back at the girl. Her eyebrows had gone down a little, and when I smirked I saw the corner of her lip twitch into a small smile. A smile so small, you wouldn't even notice it unless you were studying her face, and I guess I sort of was. She was definitely the most beautiful person I had ever seen, and I didn't even know her name. But I wanted to.

* * *

**xSx**

* * *

I tightened the strap on my book bag and turned to leave. I needed to get away from the hobbit before she started ranting again, or asked me for my number in case she was absent one day. I was taking four classes this semester, and I needed to get to my second class on time. It's not like it even matters if I go to my second class, though, I mean, I already speak Spanish fluently. But foreign language is required for everyone, so I thought I'd take the easy way out. I was about to bounce to get to my next class, but the lace of my shoe was undone, so I crouched down and fixed it. Definitely don't want to trip in front of anyone.  
By the time I stood up, pretty much everyone had cleared the room. I walked out the door and turned down the hall to find my next class, when I noticed the blonde girl looking at her map of NYU…upside down. I couldn't help but smile, it was honestly the most adorable thing I had ever seen. _What the hell, Santana? The most adorable? _As soon as I thought about how cute it was, my smile dropped, and I stepped around her.  
My Spanish class was seriously a joke, the teacher barely knew how to speak Spanish, let alone teach it. The thought that people were paying for education and were stuck with this douche for the semester, actually pissed me off.  
I was the first person to walk out of the room. I had an hour before my next class, so I decided to text Sam about switching shifts with him for the weekend. His classes all started around 1. He signed up for the most ridiculous classes; he had a culinary class, an off-campus dance class, a communications class, and English 111.  
Sam agreed to let me switch my Sunday shift with his Saturday shift, as long as we got to hang out after his dance class tonight. Easy. I get my way, and get to see my favorite person.  
I'll meet you at the studio at like eightish then?- Santana  
Yeah, dance gets over a little after eight, and knowing you, you'll probably still be late ;]- Sam  
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are just lucky I am hanging out with your sorry ass tonight. 3-Santana  
At least I have an ass, San, you are seriously lacking in that department to be talking shit.- Sam  
I make up for it with the set of rambunctious twins on my ribcage. Don't hate- Santana  
I surrender. See you at eightish then.- Sam  
**xBx**

* * *

My last class was at six, it was public speaking, which I'd totally ace, I love talking to people. After I left, I checked my phone and saw that I had 30 minutes to get to the studio and prepare for my class. I taught an introductory to hip-hop class at seven on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I was really excited about this lesson, because Mike said that quite a few NYU students attended it as a course.  
I walked to the studio and went to the back to put on the pair of grey sweats from my locker and a black wife beater tank. I pulled my hair to the side, put it in a braid, and pulled off my shoes. I always danced in bare feet or socks, shoes were way too uncomfortable.  
It was 6:55 when I walked into the studio room. They were a few people sitting in the middle of the floor talking, and when I walked to the front of the room and plugged my iPod in, they turned their attention to me.  
"Are you the instructor?" A boy with blonde, surfer-looking, hair asked with a smile. He was cute.  
"Yeah, this is intro to hip-hop, right?" I asked in a hopeful voice, and everyone nodded.  
"Awesome that would have been super embarrassing if this wasn't my class. Well, I'm Brittany Pierce, I actually go to NYU, and I work here…sooo...Great." I started off talking to the whole group, but the blonde boy gave the best eye contact so I just decided to look at him. He had a goofy smile on his face, and I noticed how big his lips were. Huh.  
Another group of students floated into the room, and I took count. There where 17 people in this class, which is awesome because that means it will be easy to help out certain people individually. I told everyone to take a seat in the center of the room, and introduced myself again. Most of the people went to NYU and were taking this as a course, but two people were just paying out of pocket for a lesson. Everyone was wearing their day clothes, and there is no way they could dance in that, so after I talked about what they would need I decided to show them a fairly simple routine that they would end up learning.  
"Wow…you are like...awesome" The blonde said out loud. It made me blush because that was such a simple routine.  
"haha, thanks. That is actually not a hard routine at all. But I do have this assignment for my dance class where I have to choreograph my own dance and it is seriously kicking my ass." One of the students asked if I could show it to them, so I checked the time, it was 7:56. I definitely had enough time to show them.  
"uhh, yeah, I can show you guys, it isn't finished but I can show you what I have so far. And remember that I made this up, so if it sucks, don't go too hard on me." I said with a smile.  
I walked over to the iPod dock and started the song, all of the students had cleared a large space in the center of the room and were standing against the wall next to the door.  
_This year's love had better last _  
_Heaven knows it's high time_  
I started of the routine and everyone stayed completely silent. Watching me.  
_I've been waiting on my own too long_  
_And when you hold me like you do, it feels so right, oh yeah_  
I twisted my head to the right and lifted my leg across my waist. I noticed the brunette girl from class peek her head into the little window on the door. I smiled in her direction, and she ducked her head away. It was cute, and it made me want to dance this routine perfectly.  
_I start to forget how my heart gets torn _  
_When that hurt gets thrown_  
_Feelin' like I can't go on_  
_Turnin' circles, time again_  
_It cuts like a knife, oh now_  
_If you love me I've got to know for sure_  
_Cause it takes something more this time_  
_Then sweet, sweet, lies, oh now_  
_Before I open up my arms and fall, losing all control_  
I slowly came to a stop when I reached the part I hadn't choreographed yet. I turned the music down and looked back at the class. Everyone just kind of looked at me with shocked expressions. I looked down at the ground and then slowly to the door. I caught her eyes again, except this time she didn't duck, she didn't even flinch. She simply stared at me, and it made my cheeks turn pink.  
The sound of applause was definitely a welcomed distraction.  
"Oh…my..god. That was really amazing Brittany. Can we see the whole thing when you are done?" It was the blond that spoke up again, but his request was followed my multiple others.  
I regained my composure and smiled brightly at them.  
"Yeah, yeah, of course you can. Did you really like it, or are you guys just saying that because I control your grades?" I let out a light laugh, and everyone joined in.  
"Alright, well, I think that wraps up class. Next time make sure you guys wear clothes you can actually dance in! I'll see you guys Wednesday night at seven." I smiled at them as they all started to filter out.  
I was facing away from the door but the mirrors in front of me allowed me to see the brunette girl enter and walk over to the blonde boy. He hugged her tightly and whispered into her ear. She cracked a grin, and then looked at me over his shoulder. We caught eyes again and this time I turned around and walked over. As soon as I started walking their way, the girl's facial expression changed. It looked like she was trying to remain stoic, but didn't want the boy to notice.  
"Uh, hey I just remembered that I didn't ask anyone what their name was, and now I feel kind of awkward because I have no clue how to address you…but I wanted to say hello" I smiled brightly at the boy, and the darker girl looked at the ground.  
"Oh, yeah! I'm Sam and this here is Santana." He spoke.  
At the mention of her name, her head shot up and she looked like she was about to pass out, her face was all flushed. I wasn't the only one who noticed, because Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulder and asked her if she was okay.  
"I-I uh..Yeah, I'm good. I uh-I haven't had anything to eat all day." Her voice rasped out. Sam looked at her like she had two heads, and she shot him the death glare. Wonder what that was about.  
Good Lord that voice. _Santana_. I said her name over in my head. I liked it, it fit her.  
"..you haven't had anything to eat all day? You? What the hell, you eat more than I do, San. And what's with the stuttering?" He said in a joking manner. Her face turned a darker shade of red, but he didn't have any time to notice because she playfully slapped him in the arm.  
"Shut up, Sam. You are just jealous that I can eat whatever I want and stay hot, but you have to hit the gym daily." She looked at him and playfully pushed him in the side. They were cute together.  
I cleared my throat and they both looked my way.  
"So, how long have you two been together?" I asked in an attempt to strike up conversation.  
They both looked at me and then at each other and started laughing. I mean uncontrollable laughter. They collapsed into each other's sides and lost it. I don't know why that was so funny, but I do know that I loved Santana's laugh.  
"Sor-sorry,...HAH, we aren't together. We are best friends, no one has ever asked up that before. Oh geez. Plus, I could never date Santana. She is what one calls an "egomaniac"" He was silenced by her elbow hitting him in the gut.  
"Oh my god, I am not an egomaniac!" She yelled as she smiled at him.  
"Oh please, Santana. You think you are the hottest person that has ever lived." Sam said.  
"Oh my god, stop" She laughed quietly but her face changed from joking to something else, almost like she felt awkward that he was saying this in front of me. Before my brain could stop my mouth, I had already said it.  
"Can you blame her? I mean, she is definitely the most beautiful girl I have ever seen." My voice didn't sound flirtatious or sarcastic, I was completely serious, and I thought I sounded sincere. As soon as I said that, her face whipped in my direction, and she held my gaze. She had the same face, the one that she wore while she watched me dance; it was like she had no control over her stare. My face felt like it was on fire. Oh my god, this was awful. I probably sounded like such a creeper. _Oh, you are so beautiful, stranger from psychology class. Nice one, Brittany_  
"Geez, San, you suck at taking compliments, you could at least say thank you to Brittany." Sam said in his regular voice.  
She torn her eyes away from mine, and looked down at the ground quickly then back at Sam.  
"I-uh, thank you, Brittany." She looked at me as she spoke. After she said my name, she opened her mouth like she was going to continue, but shut it again when Sam put his arm back around her shoulder.  
I didn't trust my voice, so I just smiled at her. I couldn't tell if she didn't believe the compliment, or if she didn't know what to say because no one had ever said that to her before. It couldn't have been the second option, there is no way. Santana probably got told she was beautiful every day from multiple people.  
"Alright, well I'm going to go home, I had a really long day. It was really nice to meet you Sam, I'll see you on Wednesday? And it is nice to finally know your name, Santana, I will see you tomorrow in class." My voice got slightly higher at the end, and Sam nodded with a smile. Santana let out a quiet 'yeah' and then averted her haze. _Great job, Brittany. This girl probably thinks you are a weirdo. _  
I went back to the lockers and switched clothes. I returned to the studio room and Sam and Santana were both gone. I swept the floor, locked the door and turned off the lights.  
I kept my apartment pretty chilly because heat was so expensive, so I hopped in the shower as soon as I got home to warm up. I put on a pair of black sweats and a tank top, covered by one of my mom's old sweatshirts. I always wore my mom's hoodies whenever I was cold, for some reason they made me feel the warmest. Maybe it was just because they reminded me of her. I love my dad and all, but ever since mom passed away, it's like her checked out. I think I would be the same if I lost my soulmate.  
It was around 9 when I finally settled in. I wasn't really hungry, so I just ate a banana and watch an episode on Criminal Minds. 45 minutes into the episode, I regretted my decision. This show was way too scary to watch alone. I shut off the television and got into my bed. My room seemed extremely dark and eerie, so I turned my mushroom night-light on and tried to not think about serial killers. My mind started to drift, and I was surprised when it finally settled on Santana. I cringed at how weird I had sounded just a few hours ago. Her whole body had changed as soon as she saw me, and after I complimented her, she couldn't even look me in the eye.  
**xSx**

* * *

_Can you blame her? I mean, she is definitely the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. _  
I had repeated that line over and over in my head as soon as she said it. I felt my body go stiff and my neck and face start to heat up, so I quickly looked at the ground. How was I supposed to respond to that? _No, you are, Brittany. You have the most breath-taking eyes I have ever seen and it scares me because I can never look away from them_. Yeah,no.  
When Sam spoke, I finally realized how awkward I had just made that situation. Brittany's cheeks were red, she was embarrassed. I don't know why I didn't just accept the compliment, I mean, I get told I'm hot all the time at the bar. But we weren't at the bar, and _she_ told me I was _beautiful_.  
I tried to look at her when she said goodnight, but I couldn't. It was like my brain was yelling at my body to just stay still, but I wanted to see her. I wanted to tell her that that was the sweetest thing I had heard in a long time, and I wanted to see her blue eyes one more time. But I didn't. I let out a quiet response and walked out of the door as soon as she entered the back room.  
"What the hell was that, Santana? I mean, I know that you can be bitchy, but Brittany seems really sweet, and you totally ignored her compliment and then made her feel even more awkward by not saying goodnight. Not cool, dude." Sam spoke a little louder than normal because I was a few steps ahead of him.  
"Oh my god, just drop it. I already feel like a bitch, and that is saying something. Let's just get some food, I'm starving, remember." I wasn't starving, I ate like two hours ago, but I thought I'd just run with the lie.  
We decided to get Chinese food and go back to my place to watch a movie. As soon as we were settled in, Sam turned to me with a dopey grin.  
"Why are you looking at me like you just saw boobs for the first time?" Sometimes I questioned my choice of friends. Sam was a serious nerd, and we weren't supposed to work together, but we did.  
"It's just that..., Brittany is really hot, like, really hot. Oh god, you should've seen her dance, San. She was amazing, and she is really sweet and funny. Dance is by far my favorite class, wait until she sees my sick moves. Or maybe I'll win her over with my impressions?" He was going on and on, and it was nice to see him so excited over the idea of a new girl. I pictured them on a date in my head and internally cringed, I didn't want her to go on a date with him. I didn't like the idea of anyone going on a date with her, but I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind. She could date who ever she wanted. I wouldn't be surprised if she was already in a relationship, I mean, look at her.  
"Sweet Jesus, Sam, slow down. You barely know this chick. She could be a dance instructor during the day and an axe murderer by night." The chances of that girl hurting anything were basically zero to none, I can tell that and I just met her. He was right about the dancing though. She was brilliant. I should have just told her that instead of making an ass of myself. I mean, I already looked like a creep watching her from a window.  
"An axe murderer, San? Really?" He laughed out. It sounded ridiculous to anyone who had met Brittany. She probably went to the park and fed the ducks for fun.  
"Plus, I don't think asking out your instructor would be a very good idea anyways. If she agreed it would be obvious that she was showing bias towards you." There we go that is a much more believable reason why he shouldn't ask her out. Perfect.  
"Yeah, yeah, you're right, I am excited about this class though. I get to check out a hot girl openly and not get slapped in the face…"He said with a smirk.  
"Ahh. Hahaha, I forgot about when Quinn slapped you when you first started working at the bar. Hilarious!" I started laughing openly at the memory.  
"Shut up, Santana, I was tipsy and it's not my fault that Quinn is hot." He said with a light laugh and pushed me over on the couch. I decided I liked the new position, so I lifted my legs over his lap and pushed 'play' on the remote.  
"Why the hell did I let you pick the movie? Seriously, you got _Forgetting Sara Marshall_? Sam, we have already seen this!" I never got to pick.  
"Hey now, Mila Kunis is a straight up hottie, and plus, you always want to get a horror film. I hate scary movies, you know that." He countered.  
"Honestly, it is probably a good idea that I didn't pick. Dealing with you during a scary movie is ridiculous, it's like I'm watching it with a third grader. Especially when I wake up to you in my bed. You are twenty years old, man. It's just sad." I never got over how scared Sam got, and it actually was really adorable how much he relied on me when the movie was over.  
I rolled over and my hand fell onto the ground, the shock for the cold flooring woke me up. I was still on the couch except Sam was gone, and there was a warm blanket tucked around me. I checked my phone and the bright light hurt my eyes. It was almost two in the morning, so I decided to move to my bed. After making sure my alarm was set and my phone was plugged in, I fell asleep.  
**xBx**

* * *

I tapped my pen on the side of my desk repeatedly. I don't even remember what my anatomy lesson was about. I think I heard the professor say something about a cat, but I could be wrong. As soon as he let us out I walked to Psych. I probably looked like I was on the track team and was training for a speed-walking competition. I just wanted to get the same seat in psychology.  
I was the second person in the room aside from the short brunette who was really bad at whispering. I casually strolled past her and sat in the same seat.  
"It's nice to see that other punctual people attend this class" Was she talking to me?  
"um..I'm not on my period" That was such a silly way to start on conversation.  
She didn't even respond, she just looked at me confused, and pulled out her bright pink pen and gold-flecked notebook.  
When more students started to enter the classroom, I got increasingly more nervous. I think it was because I had to see Santana, and I had just had a super awkward first meeting with her last night. I hated when people felt awkward around me, and I hated that I couldn't help what I said half the time.  
I started to doodle on my notebook, which held very little notes. I was half way done with a cute little duck drawing, when I heard a familiar voice.  
"Cute duck." That is all I heard, but I knew it was Santana. I could feel my ears turning bright pink, but I looked up at her anyways. She definitely didn't sleep in today because she looked gorgeous. She had on black skin-tight jeans with a loose, white top tucked in, and she was a few inches taller because of the red heels she had on. I tried to recover from my blatant starting, and look at her face. She was giving me a small smile but she looked really nervous. I don't know why she would be nervous, though. I was the one who made last night super-duper awkward.  
"Oh…um, thank you…Listen, I…uhh…I wanted to apologize for making you feel awkward last night, or embarrassed in front of your man friend. It's just that sometimes I don't have a filter and you looked really embarrassed that Sam kept talking about you being an "egomaniac", and I just didn't want you to feel like that, so I said the first thing that came to mind. "Her face faltered after I said that.  
"Wait! That came out wrong. You are the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen. I meant that when I said it…I'm just sorry if I like, freaked you out, or something…" I was talking quieter, because people were starting to sit near us, but all of my words came out jumbled because I was so nervous.  
I chanced a look at Santana, her eyebrows were slightly raised and her cheeks had a hint of red in them. She just stood in front of me for a couple of seconds and then sat in the seat next to me. She pulled out her notebook and pen, and got everything situated for class. I couldn't help but stare at her. Was she not going to talk to me now? That was kind of rude, but I totally understand because I'm so weird. I looked down at my drawing and her voice pulled me out of my daze again.  
"…Thank you, Brittany…I um, it's just that, no one ever says stuff like that to me and I don't really know how to accept compliments…but, thank you." She kept looking at me and then back at her desk.  
"You are welcome, Santana." I smiled at her, and she was hesitant at first, but then a small smile broke through.  
**xSx**

* * *

_Okay, this will have to do. This shirt definitely shows off my assets but- wait, why would that even matter? Pull yourself together, Santana. _  
As soon as I walked into Psychology, my nerves started to freak out full-force. I saw Brittany in the same seat she was in yesterday, and walked up to her quietly, before I lost my nerve. She was drawing a little duck on a page in her notebook and I couldn't help the small smile that graced my lips.  
"Cute duck." Geez, I sound like I haven't had a glass of water in years.  
Her eyes raked up my body as she took in my outfit, she paused at certain _spots_, and I could feel my cheeks getting warm. Why the hell was I blushing? Santana Lopez does not blush, especially in front of random college girls. Luckily, my body started to cool down once she looked at my face. She looked shocked at the fact that I was talking to her or something, but then I noticed her pink ears. Was she nervous, too?  
"Oh…um, thank you…Listen, I…uhh…I wanted to apologize for making you feel awkward last night, or embarrassed in front of your man friend. It's just that sometimes I don't have a filter and you looked really embarrassed that Sam kept talking about you being an "egomaniac", and I just didn't want you to feel like that, so I said the first thing that came to mind." She spoke really fast and I had to repeat everything she had just said to understand it. _So I said the first thing that came to mind._ Oh, well, she was just giving me an out because of Sam. That still stung though, it sounded like she was taking back the compliment.  
I could feel my face fall, and she must have noticed because she started talking again. Her words were quieter though because people were filling in the room. I was happy about the change in her volume; I didn't really want other people to hear this.  
"Wait! That came out wrong!" She sounded sort of frantic. "You are the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen. I meant that when I said it…I'm just sorry if I like, freaked you out, or something…"  
Butterflies. I felt butterflies all up in my stomach.  
I didn't trust my voice and I knew that if I looked at her, I would end up staring at her eyes. So I sat down in the seat next to her and got out the supplies I need for class. I was trying to buy time, but when I saw her staring at me through my peripherals with a small, sad smile, I looked her way.  
"…Thank you, Brittany…" It was too hard to look her in the eyes, so I looked back down at my desk. "I um, it's just that, no one ever says stuff like that to me and I don't really know how to accept compliments…but, thank you." I stuttered out. I think she was content with my apology because she gave me a smile, and I couldn't help but smile back. There was something different about her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry my update is so late. I've been supaaaa busy. I hope you like the chapter! Thank you so much for the reviews/favorites/follows! **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GLEE. JUST THE STORY IDEA. **

xSx

We hadn't said anything else to each other yet. After she smiled at me, my mind just sort of went blank. I tried to focus on the professor who was saying something about the history of Psychology, but my mind always wandered back to Brittany. She hadn't said anything either, so I figured she was paying attention to the lesson. When I slowly turned my head towards her, I saw that she wasn't paying attention at all. She was drawing another duck with a little hat and a monocle next to the one she had been working on when I interrupted her.

I tore out a section of my notebook paper as quietly as possible. The only person who turned their head at the insignificant noise was Chit-Chat McGee from yesterday. Yeah, like I was actually going to make eye contact with hobbit.

I thought about what I wanted to write for a moment, scribbled it down on the paper, and slid it towards the blonde.

**That duck looks like Mr. Peanut. **

I watched her read it and then turned my attention back to the front of the class. I don't even know why I wrote that to her. The more I thought about it, the weirder it seemed. But then I heard her let out a quiet laugh, and I was glad I wrote it. I felt the piece of paper gently scrape against my elbow.

**Sweet! That's what I was going for :] **

I smiled as I read the note and then I responded.

**Mr. Peanut is too cool for his own good.**

I slid the paper back to her. The fact that I was passing notes in class made me feel like a thirteen year old, but I didn't care. Hearing her let out little laughs was totally worth my internal embarrassment. She slid the paper back.

**One time I dressed up as Mr. P for Halloween. **

I felt my smile widen. I liked that I knew a little sliver about her history.

**Well, I guess that means that you are too cool for your own good then, Brittany. **

The whole time we had been passing notes neither of us looked at each other. But I could see her smiling slightly out of the corner of my eye.

**So cool I'm cold. Ice Ice Baby. Da-na-na-nu-nu-nah-nah**

I smiled and knew that my dimples were visible. There is no way anyone looks this happy in class, well, except for hobbit, so I looked down at the table. I didn't know how to respond to that, so I put the note in my notebook. I saw Brittany start writing her notes for class again so I looked back to the front of class.

I heard the tear of paper but didn't move, I was starting to daydream about random things and then I felt it. Another piece of paper hit my elbow. I looked down at it and then quickly to Brittany. She just smiled at me and started taking psych notes again.

**I thought I would just tell you that you have a really nice smile, you shouldn't hide it.**

I'm extremely happy that I am Hispanic because as soon as I read the note, I could feel my face get hot. It was a weird sensation because while my face was hot, I could feel a chill blow down my spine. I am pretty sure if I looked at my arm, the hairs would be standing straight up. I took a moment to compose myself.

**Nah. You are the best dancer I have ever seen though. **

She read the note and smiled, I could see her ears turn a light pink. She looked over and caught my stare. I was going to whip my head in the other direction, but I couldn't. My body physically could not move. Her eyes were so blue; I had never seen anything quite like it before. They were beautiful. She turned her attention back to the note.

**Nah, I'm really not that good. **

I couldn't believe her words. Of course she was good! She was amazing.

**Brittany, your dancing was beautiful.**

I couldn't look her way as I slid the note. I don't even think I was smiling. I wanted her to believe me because it was the truth. She seemed so confident with her comment about my smile and I knew that she meant it, but she didn't believe in herself. I wanted her to believe in herself.

**Thank you. I guess I'm just not use to people complimenting me. **

Not use to people complimenting her? That seemed so absurd, but when I looked over at her, her mouth was turned down at one side and her eyes looked a few shades lighter. Our little note passing session turned from cute and friendly to honest and emotional. I wanted to see her smile. My response was longer than the other ones, almost like a small paragraph.

**Seriously, Britt. I don't think I've ever been mesmerized before, but when I saw you dance I couldn't look away. I know it was probably weird to you that I was watching like a mega-creeper through the little window…and once you saw me I wasn't going to look again, but I couldn't help myself. When I looked back in the room, you were really dancing. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen…sorry, this kind of turned into a weird rant…I must seem like the hobbit over there.**

I wasn't going to show her my response, but when I saw that she still looked upset, it was like my body went on cruise-control. She unfolded the paper and as soon as she started to read it, the professor let us out of class. I don't know why I left so quickly, but my heart was beating really fast and I needed to get away from her. I turned down the hall and started walking as fast as possible without drawing attention to myself.

I don't know why I wrote that, I don't even know why I thought it.

I walked to the schools café and bought a bottle of water. My throat felt dry and the cold water was shockingly soothing. The rest of my classes were a blur. I tried not to think about Brittany, but I failed miserably. I couldn't shake her from my thoughts, and I was happy I had to work later tonight.

I walked into my apartment and stripped off my outfit. I grabbed a pair of dark-denim skinny jeans and a black V-neck. Dress code wasn't strict at the bar; we had to wear jeans or jean shorts, and a black top. I had work at 8, but I decided I would go there early to get my mind off of a certain someone. Or try to at least.

xBx

I wanted to ask her all sorts of questions, like what her major is, and what her dreams are, and what her favorite color is. I even wanted to ask her if other soaps than Dawn could clean oil off of ducks, but I didn't.

She sat next to me, and that was enough. Even though we hadn't said anything to each other, just seeing her next to me made me smile. I decided to not be a creeper and put my attention on something other than the girl next to me. I was getting pretty serious about my duck doodles; this one was definitely Mr. Peanut in duck form. I always wanted to wear a monocle but I never knew where to buy one, and I didn't have any shirts with little pockets in the front. Oh well. I did eat a lot of peanuts though. I didn't have a clue what the professor was talking about and even if I tried to listen, I know I'd just end up looking at Santana.

I saw a ripped piece of paper slowly slide into view. I stole a glance at Santana, but all of her focus seemed to be on the front of the class.

**That duck looks like Mr. Peanut.**

I couldn't help the little laugh that escaped my lips. I smiled brightly.

**Sweet! That's what I was going for :]**

A small smiled played at her lips while she read the note. She picked up her pen, wrote what she wanted and then slid the paper closer to me. Her response made me smile because I remember dressing up as Mr. Peanut for Halloween. She smiled as she wrote her response.

**Well, I guess that means that you are too cool for your own good then, Brittany.**

Every time she wrote something back, I smiled. I hadn't written anything too lame, so I thought I was allowed one ridiculously dorky line.

**So cool I'm cold. Ice Ice Baby. Da-na-na-nu-nu-nah-nah **

I slid the paper back to her side and watched her read it. She had smiled at every response I wrote, but this time her smile grew. Santana had the most beautiful smile in the world. Hands down. She quickly looked down at the table and I saw her dimples. They were like the icing on top of and already iced cake. I was waiting for her to start writing, but she slipped the note into her notebook instead.

I didn't want this little written conversation to be over and I figured I had already made a fool out of myself once, so I wrote exactly what I was thinking. When I ripped out the paper, I noticed Santana. She was in her own little world, and I instantly started to wonder what she was thinking about. When the piece of paper I was holding came in contact with her skin, she was drawn out of her daydreams.

She read the note and I am almost one hundred percent positive that I saw her cheeks flush. She didn't smile like I had hoped she would. It almost looked like she had been shocked by a baby electric eel. She sat up a little straighter and shivered, it was barely noticeable. She wrote something and then paused. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. But then she kept writing and slid the new note back to me.

**Nah. You are the best dancer I have ever seen though. **

I looked in her eyes and I wanted her to believe my compliment. So badly. Maybe she did, I hope she did. Her words made my insides warm and my ears feel hot. I loved the reaction she had on me. It was a new feeling. Dancing is my passion, but I never feel like I'm good enough. It's like, I want to impress people, but I don't want to have to do a tricky routine to catch their eye. I want someone to see me messing around and having fun, and tell me I was great.

**Nah. I'm really not that good.**

Her eyes grew a little larger and her response was quick. It was like she didn't even have to think before she wrote back.

**Brittany, your dancing was beautiful.**

She didn't look my way when she pushed the note back to me. She looked at the front of the room and all traces of her smile were gone. She knew just what to say to me, and I didn't even know her last name. We didn't know anything about each other, but she still knew exactly what to say.

**Thank you. I guess I'm just not use to people complimenting me.**

It was true. My dance instructors never really said anything to me about my dancing, and my dad never really watched me. The thought made me sad, and I wanted so badly to be happy in this moment, because Santana had just said something so sweet. But I couldn't make myself smile. She looked at me quickly and then started writing back. She wrote a lot this time, and her eyebrows were pinched slightly, like she was confused. She stopped writing and then hesitated. I saw her glance at me through the corner of her eye and she gave in. The note stopped directly in front of me.

I had just unfolded it and was about to start reading when the professor excused us from class. I was actually upset class was over because I wanted to keep talking, well, note-talking to Santana. As soon as class ended, Santana bolted.

**Seriously, Brittany. I don't think I've ever been mesmerized before, but when I saw you dance I couldn't look away. I know it was probably weird to you that I was watching like a mega-creeper through the little window…and once you saw me I wasn't going to look again, but I couldn't help myself. When I looked back in the room, you were really dancing. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen…sorry, this kind of turned into a weird rant…I must seem like the hobbit over there.**

I hadn't moved from my seat. I could feel my heartbeats, heavy and thick against my chest. My pulse quickened and it felt like I was lying on top of a giant speaker. It almost felt like my body was humming. I re-read the note before slipping it into my bag. I slowly stood up and walked out of the classroom. I wanted nothing more than to find Santana and tell her that she was the sweetest person I had ever met. But then I remembered how she had left so quickly. If I made her feel as good as she made me feel just then, I would have wanted to watch her read what I had written. I would have loved to see her reaction. But I wasn't Santana.

I couldn't stop replaying my interaction with Santana over and over in my head. I had finished all of my classes for the day and I didn't remember a single word anyone had said to me. Maybe no one said anything at all.

I left campus but I didn't feel like going home. I didn't have a large friend circle in New York or in Lima for that matter, but that didn't matter. I always thought that having a ton of friends was nowhere near as good as having one or two really close friends. Quality over quantity for me, please. I was really happy when I met Kurt. He was easy to talk to, and was totally capital G gay, so I never felt uncomfortable under his gaze. I happily made it part of my routine to visit Kurt a few times a week so we could catch up. I guess I would call him my best friend, and right now, I really wanted to talk to him.

The bell rang when I pushed open the door to Kurt's shop. There was no way I was going to drink a cup of coffee at this time of the day, I would be up the whole night, and Kurt knew that. As soon as I walked in, he smiled at me and said hello in that sing-song voice of his. He started whipping up some sort of drink that I assumed was for me because there was no one else at the counter. All of the other customers where lounging on the chairs and sofas placed around the shop, talking quietly amongst themselves.

I sat at one of the bar stools and tucked my fingers under my thighs as I began to twist slowly. He placed the warm drink in front of me and I smiled at him.

"It's hot cocoa. There is no way I would serve you coffee right now." I smiled at the fact that Kurt knew me well enough to say things like that. My mind wondered to another person who knew just what to say, and I felt my smile widen slightly. Kurt must have noticed because he sent me a playful smirk before asking me who was on my mind.

"It's no one…" I replied quietly.

"Really now? If it is no one then why are you still smiling like that?" He asked casually.

"I…I don't know, I met someone a few days ago, and they just…I don't know, they seem really different." My mind was starting to flood with images of her. Kurt put his head on his hand and leaned over the counter slightly.

"Can I get more than that, Britt? Haha. What is his name? What does he look like?" Kurt loved talking about relationship stuff with me, but I never revealed too much.

"Uhhh…well….ummm, her name is Santana…and she is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen…" I was anticipating Kurt's squeal of excitement, but when it didn't come, I was worried.

"Her name? It's a girl? Britt! Why didn't you tell me you liked girls?" He sounded excited but still a little hurt that I didn't mention my sexuality to him. Which was ridiculous to be upset over, I never knew I was attracted to girls, I still didn't know if I was. All I knew was that Santana was a mystery that I really wanted to figure her out.

"I never knew I was attracted to girls, Kurt. I just…Santana is so different and refreshing; I just don't know what she thinks of me…she is more confusing than when Christian Bale talks as Batman…"

He arched his eyebrow slowly. I decided the easiest way to explain was to just show him the note. Maybe I was completely overreacting and she was just being nice. That is probably what it was. I pulled the note out from my bag and held it delicately in front of me.

"What is that?" Kurt sounded mildly confused but I could see that he was intrigued.

"It's a….note. Well, one of them. I was sitting next to her in case and she just randomly wrote me a little note about the duck I was doodling…but we kept passing them back and forth…and then it kinda got more serious." I mumbled out quietly.

"What do you mean more serious?" Kurt looked excited when he responded.

There was so much that I had left out about our first meeting, and that was kind of crucial to the story, so I told Kurt everything that had happened between us so far. His eyes would widen slightly at some parts and then return to normal, but his smile was constant. When I got to the part where note number two came into play, I just handed it over to Kurt so he could read it himself.

His eyes slowly scanned the writing, like he was taking everything in. I started to twist in my chair again.

"Oh. Wow. Does this girl have a brother equally as charming?" He didn't move his eyes from the paper. I just stayed quiet and waited for him to start talking again.

"Britt, that last thing she wrote is extremely sweet. What did she look like, or say, after you read it?" He eyes were on me now. I frowned slightly and looked into my cup of cocoa.

"I don't know. She left as soon as I started to read it because class was dismissed. She didn't say anything or look at me, she just…bolted." It came out as a quiet, slightly dejected whisper.

"Huh…Well, all I'm gonna say is that I would never say anything so sweet to someone I just met unless I thought they were special. This girl is either a sweetheart, which is actually unlikely because if she was just being friendly, she wouldn't have left so quickly. Or maybe she is interested in you. I wouldn't over think it, Brittany." He was right. There are a lot of reasons she could have left so quickly. Like, maybe she had a train to catch, or a possible sibling had their head caught in the doggie-door. I hope it wasn't the latter, doggie-doors were painful.

"Yeah. You're right. I guess I'm just thinking way too far into this. I think I'm actually going to go Kurt, I'm tired." I sent him a bright smile. I definitely felt better after talking to him.

"Goodnight, Brittany. Remember, try not to over analyze! It won't do you any good." And with that, I walked out of the coffee shop and headed home.

I jiggled the key in the lock of my front door. My heart rate had slowed to a much more normal rate, and the flush on my cheeks was from the cold air instead of _her_. A girl. Santana was this beautiful girl that I barely knew. I could count the times I had spoken to her on one hand, and she already had a hold on me.

It was still fairly early, but I didn't really feel like do anything tonight. I put on my sweats and looked through my collection on movies. I didn't have anything recent, just a bunch of Disney flicks. I picked out _The Little Mermaid_ and snuggled under the blanket on my couch. The fabric was cold at first, but once it warmed from my body heat, I felt my eyes slowly close.

The credits had finished rolling and it was dark outside. I didn't even both to check the time, I just shut the television off and moved to my bed. Sleep came soon after I lay down.

xSx

I could feel the bass reverberate through my chest. I had gotten off work an hour ago and was two drinks in. Blaine made them strong, which I didn't mind, and I was definitely tipsy. Every time I took in my surroundings I caught a guy checking me out.

I saw a slim guy with dark hair make his way over to me. When he got closer, he gave me a smile and leaned in.

"Can I dance with you?" It was nice that he asked. One dance wasn't gonna hurt anyone.

Instead of replying, I put my arms loosely around his neck. He had pretty blue eyes. _They aren't as blue as Brittany's. _My body froze and any trace of a smile was wiped off my face. He must have noticed because he asked me if I was okay. I wasn't okay. I shouldn't have written that last part of the note. I shouldn't care about a girl I met two days ago. Suddenly the music started to sound too loud and the bar felt too crowded.

"I think I've had a little too much to drink. I'm going to head home." He sent me a small side smile and then walked away.

I walked around the bar and picked up my things.

"Night, Blaine." I sounded curt but I didn't really care. Blaine sent me a small smile and waved goodnight.

Thoughts of Brittany seemed to have sobered me up quite a bit, so my walk home wasn't too bad. I unlocked my apartment and got ready for bed. The warm water from the shower usually soothed my muscles, but after I showered tonight, I still felt tense. My sheets were cold when I got into bed. My room seemed too dark and my body felt heavy.

I recited what I had written in my head and exhaled through my nose.

I could tell it was bright in my room before I had even opened my eyes. I rolled over slowly and picked up my phone. There was no charge left. I quickly plugged it in.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" I mumbled out loud. It was 12:53, I had missed class.

_Shit. She probably thinks I skipped because of the note. _I allowed my mind to wander instead of trying to push my thoughts of her away. I didn't even say goodbye to her yesterday, and I wasn't going to get to see her until tomorrow. Would she be mad at me?

I rolled out of bed and put on some jeans, a plain black tee, and my NYU hoodie. My hair was tangled so I just threw it up into a bun. I didn't put a lot of makeup on, I didn't put on any accessories, didn't do a whole lot of anything. I didn't really care what I looked like, it's not like I'd have anyone to impress today.

I had an hour to get to my next class, so I decided to get some coffee. The shop was quaint but cute, and the barista was totally gay. He did have perfectly manicured eyebrows, though. I was impressed.

Since the school semester had just started, my classes weren't even talking about the curriculum yet. I tried my best not to fall asleep in class, and when I was dismissed for the day I decided to go for a walk in attempts to wake myself up.

My day dragged on and when 7:30 rolled around I collapsed on my couch. Quinn and Blaine were both at work so they couldn't hang out, and Sam had…dance. I shot off the couch and ran into the bathroom. I looked like a zombie. I brushed my hair and put it back in a much more elegant bun then redid my makeup. It was 7:50, and I would have changed my clothes but I really needed to get my ass going.

The walk only took about 5 minutes. When I got to the studio I peeked my head into the window and could feel my brow crease with confusion. Everyone was gone and I didn't see Brittany anywhere. I checked the time, it was 7:57. Shouldn't they should still be in class? I slowly opened the door to the room and stepped in. It was empty. I turned on my heel and was about to step out, when I heard the door from the back room open. I froze but then slowly turned back around.

Brittany was wearing grey sweats that were rolled at her hip, and the black tank she had on was a little too small so it rode up slightly, exposing her 'V' lines. I was staring. She looked a little flushed, but she wasn't really sweaty. Her hair was swept over to one side of her shoulder, leaving half of her neck visible.

"What are you doing here, Santana?" She didn't sound mad, just confused. I dragged my stare from her neck to her eyes.

I wanted to apologize but my throat closed up and I sputtered out a lie.

"Oh…I uh-I just came to see…Sam. I thought he had dance class tonight." I cast my eyes down to the floor.

"They had class...I just wasn't really…feeling up to it, I guess." I looked up at her and she twisted her mouth to one side. I felt like she was waiting for me to say something.

"oh…Um, are you….Okay?" Good. That must have been a good start because she sent me a small smile.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just…nevermind, it's kinda weird." She laughed nervously and her flush got more noticeable. What was weird?

"Brittany, what is it?" I quietly chuckled at her behavior.

" .no, I just- I don't know how to say it without sounding like…super weird." She was looking at the ground.

"Britt?" She looked up at me and just sort of stared. I was going to try to reassure her, but she started speaking.

"Well, uhh…In class yesterday, when you wrote that note…I just…It was the sweetest thing I'd heard in such a long time. And I really wanted to tell you that but you just…bolted. And then you weren't in class today and I thought you were like…I don't know…mad or something? I don't know" She sounded so unsure of herself.

She didn't feel like dancing because she thought I was mad at her? My heart sank and I stepped forward. My steps were slow. I didn't want to get too close and I wanted to get as close as possible at the same time. I stopped a few steps away from her.

"I'm sor-" I couldn't find my voice, so I coughed and tried again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave like that." My whole body felt warm.

"So you're not mad at me?" She asked.

"What? No, no I'm not mad at you." I quickly responded.

"Oh, okay…Umm,why did you leave so fast then?" She quirked her brow and tilted her head.

"I just…I don't know. I don't real-I never say things like that to people…and I guess I just didn't know how to deal with your reaction?" She smiled a little bigger and stepped forward. I froze at the close proximity.

"Well, my reaction was pretty much me smiling really big" She quietly stated then smiled.

"Well, in that case, I should have stayed" My pulse quickened when I realized how flirtatious that sounded.

"You should've. You missed out" She smirked to let me know she was joking.

"I'll just have to get you to smile again then." I attempted to sound confident, but she stepped closer and we were only a couple of inches away. All of my confidence disappeared and I told myself to keep looking at her eyes. If I let my stare roam, it would definitely land on her lips. My stomach twisted at the thought of kissing her. I felt guilty for even thinking that. I don't like girls; at least I never thought I did. My parents didn't exactly teach tolerance when I was growing up.

"Lucky for you, I smile like…all the time." She was so adorable.

"I've noticed." I wanted to stop this feeling. I wanted to walk out of the studio and not have to think about her, but that was impossible. She was too sweet to pass by. She was too different to leave behind.

"I better start walking home, it's cold out and I'm getting tired." I didn't want to leave, but I had to get out. This was too much too fast. I loved the feeling she gave me, but standing this close to her the feelings were increased to an unmanageable level. I made sure to smile at her so she wouldn't think I was mad. I was the complete opposite of mad.

"Yeah. Yeah, me too." She smiled back, shut off the lights, and locked the door.

We both turned and started walking the same way. I kept expecting her to turn down a street to go home. She never did. I slowed to a stop when we reached my apartment.

"Okay, well, this is me." I pointed at the building behind me with my thumb.

"What? Are you serious? You live here?" Was something wrong with this building? I sent her a questioning look.

"Oh, sorry. I just can't believe you live here. I live right there!" She was smiling as she pointed at a building just a few steps down. There was only one building separating us. How had I never noticed her until now?

"Are you kidding me? This is kind of awesome." I laughed out.

"Yeah, it's kind of awesome. I'm gonna go. I'll see you tomorrow." She started to move but hesitated.

I didn't know what she was thinking, but she was smiling. She looked down at the ground and her ears turned pink. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me. My heart stopped and then picked up at a rapid pace. My whole body felt warm, like heat was radiating from the center of my chest. My arms looped around her neck and I breathed her in. Coconut.

I didn't want her to let me go, but when I felt her grip loosen and her hands slowly slide around my lower back and off of my hips, I removed my arms. We were standing really close now, and I was almost a hundred percent sure my face was dark red.

"Thank you for what you wrote, Santana. It was really, really sweet." She sounded so sincere, and I knew she meant it purely by the fact that she was blushing and having trouble keeping my gaze. When our eyes finally locked, her smile widened. This was the smile I missed out on.

"You're welcome, Britt." I stated quietly.

The air around me started to feel really warm, like it was suffocating me. I started to turn and I heard her footsteps start up. I put my hand on the outside doorknob and turned to her. She was about to open her door and walk in.

"BRITT!" I yelled over to her.

Her head whipped in my direction and she stared at me, smiling.

"WHAT!" She yelled back and held in a laugh.

"I GOT YOU TO SMILE AGAIN." I could feel my own smile widen and I knew my dimples were showing. She didn't respond. She kept smiling but it went from a huge grin to a little, secretive smile that I felt was only for me.

xBx

I was thinking about her the whole time I was teaching my students a simple lock technique. It was twenty minutes into class, and I could already tell who was going to need a lot of help. I had a song with a really strong beat playing on repeat, and was standing in the front of class showing them how to hold their arms out.

"Keep your arms stiff and move them like a robot when you hear the beat. Like this." I demonstrated how to do it again.

"Imagine that your body is frozen and then when you hear the beat you unfreeze, move to your next position and freeze again. Your movements have to be quick and deliberate." I walked over to a lanky guy. I stood in front of him and held his arms tight and moved them for him.

"Sorry. I'm really bad at dancing." He sent me a sheepish smile.

"Just because you are new to dancing doesn't mean you are bad." I smiled at him and he seemed to relax. I walked back to the front of the room and turned the music down slightly.

"Guys, I know that some of you think you will never get this down, but you will. Trust me. I was just like you guys when I started out." I tried to reassure them. Only a few people could actually do the move correctly. A few of them smiled at me and believed me, the others just let out a huff. Not being able to do something is really frustrating. Trust me, I get it.

"You know what? I think that you guys have done enough for tonight. I know it's early but dancing is really tiring, especially when you are new to it. But good job, guys. Really." I turned the music off completely and was packing up all of my things. The students seemed to be happy to get out early.

I walked into the back room and took my clothes out of the locker. I contemplated changing back into my jeans, but decided against it and just put them into my bag. I took out my water bottle and took a sip. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and decided to unbraid my hair. I t was naturally straight, but the braid had made it a little wavy. I pushed it all to one side of my shoulder to cool off my neck.

I took of my over shirt and decided to just wear the tank I had on. It was a little small on me, but I felt hot from dancing. I shut the lights off in the backroom and open the door. I saw a girl with her back turned to me standing near the entrance. When she turned around, I froze.

I saw her eyes rake slowly up my body and instantly regretted taking off my over shirt. She paused at my abs briefly, and then her eyes made their way to my face. Before she made eye contact with me, I saw her gaze stop traveling up my body.

"What are you doing here, Santana?" Did she come here to see me? She was looking just below my face, I think. Was she looking at my neck? A few seconds later her eyes locked with mine.

"Oh…I uh-I just came to see…Sam. I thought he had dance class tonight." Duh. Of course she was here for Sam. She looked down at the ground. She sure did that a lot.

"They had class...I just wasn't really…feeling up to it, I guess." I pulled my lips to one side and just sort of looked at her.

"oh…Um, are you….Okay?" She was talking kind of quietly. I could feel a small smile play at my lips and I gave in.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just…nevermind, it's kinda weird." I stopped talking when I realized what I would have to say. I felt my cheeks flush a little.

"Brittany, what is it?" She laughed a little after saying it, but it sounded forced and nervous. I looked at the ground. I always made situations so awkward.

" .no, I just- I don't know how to say it without sounding like…super weird." How was I supposed to tell her that she was the reason I was a little bummed? No way would I tell her, we barely knew each other.

"Britt?" I looked up at her after she used my nickname. I loved hearing my name fall so easily off of her tongue. Especially when she called my Britt.

"Well, uhh…In class yesterday, when you wrote that note…I just…It was the sweetest thing I'd heard in such a long time. And I really wanted to tell you that but you just…bolted. And then you weren't in class today and I thought you were like…I don't know…mad or something? I don't know" I knew I was starting to ramble, so I just stopped talking. Her face fell slightly and her whole body sort of deflated. She stepped closer to me slowly. I could feel my heart rate increase with every step she took.

She opened her mouth to talk and mumbled out something. I had no clue what she just said, and I don't think she did either, because she cleared her throat and said it again.

"I'm sorry.I didn't mean to leave like that." She felt bad about leaving? Phew. That made me feel so much better.

"So you're not mad at me?" I questioned, and her confused look returned.

"What? No, no I'm not mad at you." She said it so fast. Wait, now I was kind of confused.

"Oh, okay…Umm,why did you leave so fast then?" I really wanted to know. I felt my smile growing as she responded.

"I just…I don't know. I don't real-I never say things like that to people…and I guess I just didn't know how to deal with your reaction?" Did that make me special to her? I stepped closer to her and her body flinched slightly at my movement.

"Well, my reaction was pretty much me smiling really big." And my heart beating like it was on crack. I left that part out.

"Well, in that case, I should have stayed." Her eyes bugged out for a split second, and then I responded.

"You should've. You missed out." I smirk at her and I could feel my heart beating in my chest. I wanted her to say something else, so I could keep feeling my heart race. I wanted to see just how fast she could get my heart beating.

"I'll just have to get you to smile again then" Her voice wavered as I started moving closer to her. She was staring right into my eyes. I think she was nervous, because she didn't even blink.

"Lucky for you, I smile like…all the time." I didn't have to talk loud at all, because I was standing a few inches away from her.

"I've noticed." She whispered back. I could feel my body start to heat up. My fingertips were tingling to touch her.

"I better start walking home, it's cold out and I'm getting tired." She sent me a small smile when she stopped talking. It was a good thing she said that. I knew I would've done something if she hadn't spoken up.

I agreed with her and shut of the lights of the apartment. I locked the front door and noticed she was standing next to me outside. Her hands were tucked into the front pocket of her hoodie. She looked so cute and little.

I turned to start walking towards my apartment, and she followed me. When she stopped walking and told me where she lived, I was shocked. We lived so close to each other and we didn't even know it. When I told her that I lived one building away, I saw her smile. She sounded genuinely happy about our close proximity and I was about to go up to my place but I froze.

Santana didn't seem like someone who would give hugs, but I wanted to hug her, so I did. I lifted my gaze from the ground and wrapped my arms around her lower back. I felt her muscle tense briefly, and then her arms looped around my neck and she sort of collapsed into me. I think I could've held her all night, but that would've been strange.

I slowly slid my hands around her hips, and I was so tempted to squeeze them gently, but I decided against it. She let go and now we were standing really close. I was breathing in the air that she exhaled. I loved being so close to her. I could see the blood rush to her cheeks.

"Thank you for what you wrote, Santana. It was really, really sweet." I whispered out the words and dropped my gaze. My face felt hot and I was really happy that it was nighttime. I looked up at her and caught her gaze. I felt my smile widen all over again.

"You're welcome, Britt." She said it really quietly and then turned to her building. I started walking towards mine and had my hand on the door when I heard her yell my name.

"WHAT?" I yelled back to her and tried my best to not start giggling.

"I GOT YOU TO SMILE AGAIN." I felt my chest expand and the tingles in my fingertips return. I couldn't help but look at her with a small, crooked smile. She was so different from anyone I had ever met. I didn't want to ruin the moment with a comeback, so I just stared at her and kept smiling until she walked inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope you guys like this chapter! I have no clue where this is going to go. I am just writing off of the top of my head. Oh, and I'm going to change the summary…yeah. Okay! :D**

**DISCLAIMER: We all know I don't own glee. Yeah. It's a shame, I know. **

xBx

My Anatomy professor wouldn't stop talking and by the time he dismissed us and I got all of my things together, it was three minutes after 10. I quickly walked to my Psychology class and opened the door as quietly as possible. A few heads turned in my direction, including Santana's. As soon as we made eye contact, her smile grew.

I went to sit next to her but someone was already sitting there. I sent her a side smile and she raised her shoulders slightly in response. I sat in the first open seat. The girl who was really bad at whispering was sitting in the next seat over. She leaned over slightly, and it was just like what she had done to Santana. My response was the same and I leaned away from her. She kept beaming at me, and I was starting to find it a little strange. I loved making people smile and all, but I didn't even do anything to make her happy.

I could see Santana looking over at us and smirking but the girl moved her head and blocked Santana's face. I wanted to keep looking at Santana, but I didn't want to be rude to this strange girl.

"Umm, can I help you?" I didn't sound snarky, just confused.

"Oh, no, no, no. I just wanted to say hello and apologize for our rather awkward chat we had a few days ago. And introduce myself. My name is Rachel Berry." She talked really fast. I felt like it was my duty to give Kurt a photo of her so he would know to never serve her coffee.

"I didn't really feel awkward. Well, Hi Rachel. I'm Brittany" I smiled at her and she went back to her notes. Santana was still looking over at me. She was holding in a giggle and trying not to smile, but I could see it in her eyes. She was so pretty. You know those people who are stunning and you think they are going to be really mean, but then you talk to them and they are super sweet, and they somehow become even more breathtaking? That was Santana.

The guy next to her leaned in and I saw a flirtatious smile grow on his lips. She took her attention off of me and looked at the guy. Her smile was completely gone, and replaced with an uncomfortable look. I saw her mouth what looked like 'uh,no thanks.'

The guy's smile faltered but he started talking again. Her eyebrow rose slightly and she narrowed her eyes at him. I think she was getting mad. She put her hand up to make him stop talking and mouthed 'seriously, can you not'. He sat back in his seat and she rolled her eyes in his direction.

I had been watching her the whole time and when she looked over at me, I sent her a confused look. She shook her head once, as if she was saying 'not now', and then smiled at me. I started writing my psych notes so I wouldn't fall behind in class. The teacher dismissed us and I gathered all of my things together. All of the students started to shuffle out and I saw a body stop in front of my desk.

"Hey, Britt-Britt." She looked like she was relieved to be away from that guy, and smiled down at me. Her nickname for me was really cute.

"Hey, San-San." I smirked at her and she just shook her head.

"San-San? Oh god, that sounds awful." She giggled slightly, but I could tell she really didn't like the nickname.

"It does, doesn't it?" We both giggled and she slowly nodded her head.

"So what was up with that guy next to you?" I had been wondering what he had said to her all class.

"Ugh, don't remind me. He was flirting, well, attempting to flirt. Yeah, definitely not, he was gross. And totally not my type." She sounded like she was a rich valley girl when she said that line, and I laughed at how dramatic she was being.

"Eww." I wrinkled my nose slightly and then continued.

"You know, I never understood why people said that someone wasn't their type. Like, how do you even know what your type is?" It was a serious question but I said it in a really light manner.

"You know, I don't really know to be honest. He definitely wasn't it though." She was laughing quietly. I stood up and we both walked out of the room.

"Yeah, you looked really uncomfortable. I hate when people hit on me." I seriously did. It was gross when random guys tried to flirt. I wouldn't mind if Santana was flirtatious towards me though. I would definitely like that.

"Well, I'm sorry then, because it probably happens to you all of the time." She always looked at the ground after she said things like that. It was adorable and made my insides all warm.

"Thank you? I think you probably have to deal with it way more than I do." When I first met her, I could never look her in the eye, but now that I had hugged her and was starting to feel more comfortable, I was able to. She always dropped her gaze. It was really adorable, but I liked to look in her eyes. They looked like melted chocolate. Yummy.

She didn't look up from the ground, but I could see her smile grow.

"Oh, and you better save my seat tomorrow, that girl talks way too fast. I can't even understand what she says." I liked sitting next to Santana way more. She quickly agreed.

"I will definitely save your seat. You can save me from getting hit on by Bigfoot. Nasty." She wrinkled her nose and then giggled.

"Maybe we can turn him in and collect the reward." Santana looked over at me quickly then burst into laughter. Her eyes crinkled at the edges and her dimples were easy to spot. She finally settled down and pushed my arm slightly as we walked. I just smiled at her. I loved making her laugh like that.

"Do you have another class?" She asked casually.

"Yeah, I have Spanish 101 in like 5 minutes. I have no idea what he is saying. It's really hard, and we are only a few days in to this semester." I hated foreign languages. I failed Spanish in high school; there is no way I'll pass it in college.

"I can help you…I speak Spanish fluently, and I'm taking the same class as you but it starts later today. That teacher sucks, so don't feel bad." She looked kind of mad when she talked about the teacher.

"Will you really? That would be awesome because we have that test on Monday." I was really nervous about that test. I needed to keep my GPA up if I wanted to keep my scholarship.

"How about you come over to my place tonight? We can go over all of the material until you feel comfortable." Santana was so nice.

"That would be really awesome. Here, let me give you my number. I am free after 2 today but I'm going to the studio for a while. Just let me know when you want me to come over." I was really excited to hear her speak Spanish. She took out her phone and handed it to me. I handed it back.

"Umm. Can you just do it? I'm like…really bad with phones." She just laughed lightly and put my contact info in.

"Okay, well you need to go to class. I'll text you later. And remember, that teacher sucks, don't feel bad about yourself. He has no clue what he is talking about." She rolled her eyes in a joking way. She was so nice to me. I said goodbye and when she started walking away I called out to her.

"Hey, Santana?" She turned around.

"What is your last name?" I really wanted to know. She tilted her head a little bit.

"It's Lopez. What is yours?" She was sending me a little grin.

"Pierce. Brittany S. Pierce." I responded.

"Wait, what's your middle name?" She asked me quickly.

"You'll find out later. I gotta go!" I sent her a big smile and rushed down the hall to class.

xSx

I made sure to pay attention in Spanish today so I would know what to teach Brittany. The professor had greasy, macaroni hair and he wore a vest every day. He really needed to go see a stylist. He always raised his eyebrows and ended up looking like a pervy librarian. He was attempting to teach simple vocab. No wonder Brittany was so confused.

I wrote down all of the words he used and went to my next class. It was my Western Civilizations class; the professor just lectured us for an hour. It was a boring class, but it wasn't hard. The professor said that we had a paper due in like two months, and as long as we showed up to class we would pass.

It was 6 by the time I got home. I decided to do the homework for my English class. I had to write a single page paper about where I grew up and how it formed me into the individual I am today. What does she want to hear from me? That I grew up in small town Lima, Ohio? That my father was a doctor and my mother was a lawyer? Or maybe how they were never home? That I am a bitch to everyone because I never know who I can trust? That all seemed too personal, so I just decided to write some bullshit paper on how I lived in a small town and always knew that I belonged in New York.

I shut my laptop and pulled my phone out of my jean pocket. It was 7:23. I unlocked my screen and sent Brittany a text.

Hey,Britt-Britt. You can come over whenever you're ready. I have like no food though, so I'd definitely eat before you get here.7B - Santana.

I contemplated adding a smiley face, but quickly decided against it. My phone buzzed.

I'll be over in like 20! :]- Brittany

Well, I totally could've used that smiley face. I looked around my apartment. It wasn't really dirty, but I suddenly felt self-conscious. What if Brittany kept her place spotless? I highly doubted that, and she probably wouldn't even care, but I picked up. I walked into the bathroom and was happy enough with appearance. It would be really weird if I got all dressed up. She already knows what I look like.

I heard a knock at my door and instantly got nervous. Brittany was going to be in my apartment. Just us. Me and her, in a small place that I just happened to live in. I took a deep breath and shut my eyes. I exhaled slowly and opened my door. She was standing in front of me with her black sweats rolled at the hip and a tight, long-sleeved white shirt. She was holding a white bag with a familiar red logo on it in one hand, and a black bag in the other.

"Hey! I brought you- well, I brought us some Chinese. I'm super hungry." She held up the bag and smiled at me.

"Hey, I didn't mean to sound like you had to bring food. Sorry." I felt bad that she bought me something. She rolled her eyes and responded.

"Seriously, don't worry about it, Santana. You are helping me with Spanish. Doesn't it seem a little one-sided if I don't get you something?" She laughed a little at the end but I could tell she seriously didn't mind. I stepped to the side so she could enter. I shut the door behind her and took the food into the kitchen. She followed me in.

"Do you want something to drink?" I took out two glasses.

"Yeah, just water. Thanks." She sat at one of the stools next to my counter.

"We can just eat in the living room. Here, just take this out and put in on the coffee table. I'll bring the plates." She picked up the bag and left the kitchen.

I walked into the living room with two plates, a fork, and our water. I sat them next to the bag as she pulled out the various containers and chopsticks.

"I had no idea what you ate…or if you even liked Chinese. Wait, you like Chinese right?" I just nodded at her. She was sitting on the floor even though there was a couch right behind her. I didn't question her, and just sat down beside her.

"Okay, good. I didn't know what you liked, so I got a thing of red pepper chicken and then I got orange chicken. Oh, and rice and eggrolls. Cause they are the bomb. MMM." She let out a little groan and I felt my thighs constrict. She was sending me a questioning look. Did she notice that? My eyes bugged quickly and then went back to normal.

"Are you cold?" She sounded concerned so I nodded.

She unzipped her black bag, pulled out her zip-up black hoodie, and handed it to me. I grabbed it even though I could walk down the hall and get one of my own. Wearing something of hers sounded so much more appealing. I slipped my arms through it and zipped it up a little. It was too big on me because Brittany was taller.

"Haha, it's so big on you. You look like a little kid." I sent her a pout. She cracked a smile.

"Sorry. You look very cute." She usually dropped her gaze after she said stuff like that, but she didn't this time. I tried to hold her gaze but I couldn't. I heard her shuffle around and when I looked up, she was scooping a little bit of everything on both plates. She slid one of the plates closer to me and she picked up the fork. I grabbed a set of chopsticks and was just about to eat the first piece of chicken when I noticed her starting at my hands.

"Uhh…Britt? You okay?" I felt nervous under her gaze.

"I'm fine. I just wish I could use chopsticks." She raised her shoulders and looked a little bummed. She started eating with her fork and turned to the television. The cooking channel was on quietly on in the background. I picked up the other set of chopsticks and broke them. She turned her head at the noise.

"Here." I moved closer to her and slipped the chopsticks into place. My heart was pounding in my chest. My face was right above her shoulder and when she turned her head to the side, I could feel heat radiating off of her cheek. The left side of my face and nose were millimeters away from her cheek. I saw her eyes scan my profile quickly.

"Keep this one firm and then move the other one like a pencil…It's not hard." I whispered out. She turned her attention to her hand and she tried to move them. She wasn't holding the bottom one hard enough and the food fell, so I enclosed my hand around hers and guided her slowly.

"There you go. Now you know how." She leaned away from me slightly and then looked my way. We were face to face and I could feel her breath on my lips. My heart beat was frantic and thick. I pulled away from her.

"Thanks for bringing this over." I needed to fill the awkward silence that was about to come so I grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. We were both leaning back on the couch comfortably. I pressed 'guide' on the remote and started searching for something to watch.

"Oh. Can we watch Criminal Minds? It is like my favorite show but I always get way too freaked out when I watch it alone." I never would have guessed she liked such a serious, scary show. I selected it and we both started eating.

The episode was almost over and we had both finished the Chinese. I got up and picked up the mess. She started to get up but I told her that she didn't need to help clean since she bought it. She leaned back against the couch again. I put everything back in the kitchen and grabbed the fortune cookies out of the bag. I walked back into the living room and she looked up at me from the floor.

"You know you can sit on the couch right?" I was confused as to why she didn't move after dinner.

"I kinda forgot I was on the floor. I didn't want to spill…but now that I'm done…" She pulled herself onto the couch and I sat next to her.

"Here." I handed her one of the fortune cookies. She broke it open and read it aloud.

"You have a beautiful imagination. One day it will pay off." She shrugged her shoulders and told me to open mine.

"Let people see the real you. You are beautiful." I let out a little laugh and placed the paper out the table as I ate my cookie.

I checked my phone. It was almost 9 and we didn't even start studying.

"Oh god, Britt. We should start studying right now if you're still up to it. It's getting kinda late." I got caught up in her presence and totally blanked on why she was here. I just liked her company.

"Oh, sorry I didn't notice how late it was. I can just go home? I don't want to keep you up." She was so sweet.

"Nah, its fine. I wrote down all of the words he used in class so I know what to help you with." I got up and grabbed my notebook. I turned off the television and sat back down on the couch.

"Okay. I think I should just start from the top. Since this test is on vocabulary, all you have to do is memorize it. Alright. Here are all of the words that will be on test." I turned the notebook her way and she scooted closer to me on the couch. Her body leaned into mine slightly and she looked down at my notebook. I focused on my breathing.

"The first saying on the list is Buenos Dias, which means good morning. There are three common greetings for different times of the day: morning, afternoon, and night." I looked over at her and she nodded her head to let me know she understood.

"Okay, the next phrase is Buenas Tardes, which is good afternoon. And then Buenas Noches, which is goodnight." She was looking at me instead of the paper and her brow was slightly raised.

"Sorry, that was a little fast. Okay…uhh… sometimes I create little sayings to help me remember confusing things. So maybe we can come up with little sayings for you?" I wanted her to do really well on this test. She smiled and nodded quickly.

"Alright…well, for good morning you could say…Deeias is too early to be awake." I said it in a slightly Jamaican accent and she giggled.

"Sorry. I suck at this. That was really lame too." My embarrassment only grew when she kept giggling.

"Stop laughing at me!" I pushed her over on the couch and she just kept giggling.

"I'm sorry. I really like how you teach. I actually understand you. But that was the worst Jamaican accent I've ever heard." I could feel my own smile forming.

"Well then, I want to hear you try it." It was so nice to be able to be whoever I wanted around her. Brittany sat up and turned her body to me. She crossed her legs and her knees were touching the outside of the thigh. She started talking to me in a Jamaican accent, that was surprisingly good, and I couldn't hold back my laughter.

"So ah say yam akin meh crayza-" She couldn't keep a straight face anymore and she joined in on my laughter. I hadn't laughed like this is such a long time. We settled down and got back to studying. We finally made up sayings for good afternoon and goodnight. When she remembered the three greetings, we moved on to the next couple of words. We went over a quarter of the list.

I let out a yawn and was about to start talking again, but Brittany piped up.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. It's almost eleven o'clock. You need to go to sleep." It was almost eleven already? I had no clue time had been moving so fast, but when I thought about it, I was actually really tired. I handed her the sheet we had been writing on and she put it in her bag. I stood up from the couch and stretched. She packed all of her things up and stood next to me. As soon as I stood up, I felt extremely drowsy. I shuffled to my front door and she followed. She stepped across the threshold, put down her bag, and looked at me expectantly.

I quirk my brow and was about to ask her what was wrong, but then she pulled me into a hug. I didn't even have enough time to move my arms and they were trapped in front of my body. The heat from her body mixed with how tired I was caused me to lean the majority of my bodyweight into her. I slowly inched my arms up and she leaned back. I think she thought I wanted her to let go because I could feel her arms start to slip off my lower back. I threw my arms around her and buried my face into the crook of her neck. She was so warm. She re-wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me in closer. This hug was lasting way longer than the one last night and way longer then a normal, friendly hug, but I didn't care. I loved the feeling of her arms around me, and I loved how she always smelled like coconuts. I reluctantly pulled away because I was seriously about to fall asleep on her. Her hands slowly slid off of my hips and she just sort of stared at me. If I wasn't so tired, I'm pretty sure I would have started blushing.

She picked up her black bag and threw it over her shoulder. I held the doorknob with my right hand and leaned on the side of the door. I let my head rest on the wood as I looked at her with a small smile. I was about to close the door, but then I remembered I was still wearing her hoodie. No wonder I felt so warm.

"Oh, geez. Sorry. I forgot was wearing this." I rasped out the words. She just sent me a small smile as I slowly unzipped the sweatshirt. I pulled my arms out of it and held it out for her. She gently took it from my grasp.

"Night, Britt." A small, lazy smile was on my lips.

"Night, for tonight." She returned my look and turned away. I never let anyone other than Sam call me that, but I really liked how it sounded when she said it. The door was almost closed, but I reopened it and stuck my head out.

"What's your middle name?" I didn't have to yell because the hall was deadly quiet. She stopped walking and turned around. I saw her smile widen as she answered.

"Susan." That was all she said, then she turned back around and walked down the stairs. I shut my door and locked it. I shut off the lights in my apartment and walked into my bathroom. I couldn't shake the small smile, so I stopped trying. I brushed my teeth and got in bed. I usually shower at night, but I was just too tired. I pulled the sheets over my body and set my alarm. As soon as I shut my eyes, I fell asleep.

xBx

I rocked back and forth from my heel to the balls of my feet. I looked at the brass '7A' attached to the white door. I had been standing in front of her door for about a minute. I wasn't nervous about seeing her at all today, but as soon as I entered her building, my movements slowed. When I finally reached her door, my movements had stopped completely.

I lifted my hand, and balled my fist to knock on her door. I heard her shuffling around, and then it got really quiet. She opened the door. She was smiling but she looked a little nervous.

"Hey! I brought you-well, I brought us some Chinese. I'm super hungry." I lifted the bag up, and instead of smiling, she sent me an uncomfortable frown. Did I do something wrong?

"Hey. I didn't mean to sound like you need to bring food. Sorry." That's what that look was for? I rolled my eyes at her. I didn't mind buying her food. She was nice, and she deserved to have people to buy things for her.

"Seriously, don't worry about it, Santana. You are helping me with Spanish. Doesn't it seem a little one-sided if I don't get you something?" That made sense. She was taking time out of her day for me; I could definitely spend a couple of bucks on her. I think she realized that it wasn't a big deal, because she didn't say anything else. She stepped to the side and opened up the door a little more, so I could step in. She kept her apartment so much cleaner than I did. My dad always told me to clean up my room, but whenever I cleaned up I had a really hard time finding what I was looking for. She took the bag of Chinese from my hands and walked into her kitchen.

"Do you want something to drink?" I always told people I wanted water when they asked me that. I didn't want her to have to get me some special drink. She poured two glass of water and told me to take the food into the living room.

I walked towards the coffee table and set the food down. There was a really expensive looking leather sofa behind the table, but I sat on the floor instead. I would feel really bad if I got something on her couch. Her television was on the cooking channel. I bet she was really good at cooking. Santana seems like she would be really good at everything. She walked into the room and looked down at me as she placed our plates and glasses on the table. She quirked her brow a little bit, but didn't ask me anything. She just sat down next to me.

"I had no idea what you ate…or if you even liked Chinese. Wait, you like Chinese right?" She just nodded.

"Okay, good. I didn't know what you liked, so I got a thing of red pepper chicken and then I got orange chicken. Oh, and rice and eggrolls. Cause they are the bomb. MMM." I think she was cold, because she kind of shivered after I said that. I looked over at her quizzically and her eyes ballooned momentarily.

"Are you cold?" I wanted her to be comfortable. She nodded her head quickly, so I reached up and grabbed my hoodie. As I handed it to her, I remembered where we were and thought she would just decline my offer and get her own. She didn't. She took it from my and slipped her arms easily through the sleeves. She zipped it up a little higher than her belly button. I liked the idea that she was wearing something that belonged to me. Plus, she looked seriously adorable. It was way too big on her. I laughed.

"It's so big on you. You look like a little kid." I didn't think she could get any cuter but then her full lips formed into a pout. I instantly corrected myself.

"Sorry! You look very cute." She tried to look me in the eyes, but her gaze dropped. I think I made her a little uncomfortable. Santana was really confusing. I was going to ask her why she always looked at the ground, but I didn't want to make her feel even more uncomfortable. Especially in her own home. I unstacked the plates and put a little bit of everything on each one. I slide a plate over to Santana and picked up the fork that was in front of me. She broke apart a set of chopsticks and easily picked up a piece of chicken. Her mouth was open and she was about to bite down, when she caught my gaze. I know some people felt weird when others watched them eat, and I think that is exactly how she was feeling. Nervous.

"Uhh…Britt? You okay?" I was going to apologize for starting, but I wasn't really sorry. I liked looking at her.

"Yeah. I just wish I could use chopsticks." I shrugged and turned my attention to the television. I loved that the cooking channel was on. I looked over at Santana when I heard something snap. She was holding a new set of chopsticks in her hand. She moved closer to me, and was practically looking over my shoulder. She whispered near my ear and I turned my head slightly. I could feel her warm breath on my cheek. I wanted to lean back into her, but I didn't know if that was appropriate. I didn't really know where we stood. All I knew was that I liked her and I liked being near her. My eyes took in her face. She was so close.

She quietly told me how to hold the sticks. I looked back down at my hand. I followed her instructions and tried to pick something up. The sticks went in opposite directions and the food fell. I was really happy that I did it wrong, because as soon as the food dropped, I felt Santana's warm hand slip around mine. She moved my fingers for me.

"There you go. Know you know how." She was still sitting really close. I leaned away from her so I could turn my head completely. Our faces were really close, and when I exhaled, I could feel my breath ricochet off of her lips and hit my own. I think this is what people were talking about when they said 'you just have a moment'. The air got thicker, maybe that was because I was breathing in my own air and Santana's at the same time. She pulled away slowly.

"Thanks for bringing this over." I was happy she talked first. Who knows how I would have started a conversation after what had just happened. I probably would have made a fool out of myself. She picked up the remote and started looking for something to watch. When she scrolled past Criminal Minds, I asked her if we could watch it. I definitely wouldn't get scared if she was next to me.

We didn't say anything as we ate. It wasn't really an uncomfortable silence; it was just a little tense. The episode was almost over when she got up. She stacked the plates on top of each other and brought everything back into the kitchen. I sat up to help her, but she told me I didn't have to because I bought it. I leaned back against the front of the couch and waited for her to get back.

"You know you can sit on the couch right?" She didn't sound snarky, just a little confused. I pulled myself up and sat on the middle cushion. She sat next to me and held out her left hand. There was a fortune cookie sitting in the center of her palm. I picked it up, broke the yellow cookie in half, and pulled out the slip on paper.

"You have a beautiful imagination. One day it will pay off." I just shrugged my shoulders and waited to hear her read hers out loud.

"Let people see the real you. You are beautiful." That was such a perfect fortune for her, but she just laughed it off and put the paper on the table. She pulled out her phone and checked the time.

"Oh god, Britt. We should start studying right now if you're still up to it. It's getting kinda late." I really wanted to stay with her, but I didn't know if that was her way of hinting that she wanted me to go home. I wanted to make sure I wasn't over-staying my welcome.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know how late it was. I can just go home? I don't want to keep you up." I didn't want her to feel like she was being mean to me if she wanted me to leave. She tilted her head to the side a little and gave me a look. She didn't look annoyed, or mad, she just sort of took me in.

"Nah, its fine. I wrote down all of the words he used in class so I know what to help you with." She got up and grabbed her notebook, and then she shut the television off. She sat back down and filed through the pages of her notebook. She had really neat handwriting. She put the notebook on her lap and twisted it in my direction. It couldn't see it clearly from where I was sitting so I scooted closer to her. My arm was touching her. She was so warm.

"The first saying on the list is Buenos Dias, which means good morning. There are three common greetings for different times of the day: morning, afternoon, and night." She spoke slowly, and when she finished her sentence, she looked over at me. I nodded my head so she knew I was following along.

"Okay, the next phrase is Buenas Tardes, which is good afternoon. And then Buenas Noches, which is goodnight." That was a little too fast. I looked up from the paper and met her eyes. She apologized for going too fast.

"Okay…uhh… sometimes I create little sayings to help me remember confusing things. So maybe we can come up with little sayings for you?" I liked that idea. When she tried to make up a little saying for good morning, I couldn't hold back my laughter. It was absolutely adorable. She pushed me over onto the couch jokingly.

"Sorry, that was the worst Jamaican accent I've ever heard." I grinned at her and she challenged me. People always told me I was really good at impressions. We both burst into laughter after I tried the accent out. I did way better than her. We eventually settled down and she helped me with a decent part of the list. She was about to continue with the next word, but a yawn slipped out. I checked my phone. It was almost eleven at night.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. It's almost eleven o'clock. You need to go to sleep." I think the time surprised her too. She gave me the paper we had been working on and I put it in my bag. When she stood up and stretched, I could see how tired she really was. She slowly shuffled to her door and I stepped out into the hallway. I put my bag down and looked at her. She looked at me quizzically, which solidified my theory that she never hugged people. Before she spoke up, I stepped closer to her and wrapped my arms around her lower back. Her muscles didn't tense like they had last night, but I felt her move her arms. I started to pull my arms away, but then she threw her arms around my neck and completely leaned into me. Her face was resting in the crook of my neck, and I could feel her breath on my skin. I pulled her closer into me and shut my eyes.

She fit so perfectly between my arms. Her breathes were slow and faint. She was about to fall asleep. I think that is why she eventually pulled away. I loved long hugs with Santana. She leaned against the side of her door and sent me a lazy smile. I put the strap of my bag over my shoulder and she perked up a little.

"Oh geez, sorry. I forgot I was wearing this." Her words sounded a little dry, probably because the amount of sodium in the Chinese food. She slowly removed my sweatshirt and held it out.

"Goodnight, Britt." I loved the look she was giving me. She was blinking slowly and had a little, lazy smile on her lips. I returned her look.

"Goodnight, San. Thanks for tonight." I felt a lot less nervous about the test now. I turned away from her and started walking down the hall. Her voice stopped me. This was the second time she had done this. I didn't mind. Her voice was like velvet and sandpaper at the same time.

"What's your middle name?" When I turned around, she only had her head sticking out. She looked like a little turtle. She just kept getting cuter by the minute.

"Susan." I sent her a little grin and turned around. I stepped down a few stairs and finally heard the door shut. I prepared myself for the cold air, but when I stepped outside my internal body heat overpowered it. I walked into my apartment and brushed my teeth.

My bed sheets didn't feel as cold as they usually did. I could still feel her weight pressing into me when I lay down. I could still feel her breath on my neck. I thought back to the hug. When I felt her arms fall around my shoulders and her head nestle my neck, my eyes fluttered shut. I wanted to feel that again. I wanted to hold her right now. She was one building away, probably balled up under her covers sleeping soundly. The fact that my heart rate picked up a just the thought of her kind of scared me. Maybe the reason I never wanted anyone to touch me was because I was saving myself for someone as special as Santana.

xSx

The warm water rolled down my back and legs. I didn't mind having to take a shower, because my apartment was freezing when I woke up. I checked my weather app and saw that overnight the temperature had plummeted, and there was a thirty percent chance of snowfall. New York weather was extremely random, it could be 75 one day and 40 the next. I didn't mind though, I loved the cold weather.

I wrapped the plush, white towel around my body and combed through my hair. I definitely need to blow-dry my hair. I'm not about to get a cold this early into the winter months. I lightly curled my hair at the bottom and clipped the left side back behind my ear. It was going to be in the low forties all day, so I put on a pair of dark jeans and a long sleeve, crème blouse. I lightly applied my makeup and pulled my brown, knee high, leather boots on. I was moving quicker than I usually did and I had a little bit of time to kill before psychology class. I grabbed my brown leather jacket from the closet and stepped into the hallway. I locked my front door and dropped my house keys in my purse.

As soon as I stepped outside, a gust of cold wind caught my sleeve and blew all the way up my arm. I shivered and started heading towards campus. I walked past the little coffee shop but turned around and entered. The smell of coffee was delectable. I walked over to the counter and saw the same guy. The one with the really nice eyebrows.

"Could I get a medium, dark-roast, please?" He sent me a polite smile and I actually returned it this time. I had been in a really good mood all morning. Last night had been…nice. Brittany was nice.

"You know what? Could I also get a medium, peppermint mocha?" He added that to my bill. I handed him over a ten and placed the change in his tip jar. He always made really great coffee, and I was feeling generous.

"Here you go. Be careful, they are really, really hot. Have a nice day!" I wonder how many cups of coffee he had to drink to achieve his level of enthusiasm. I walked to campus with a cup in each hand. I was a couple of minutes early but I took a seat anyways.

I heard a series of quick, loud footsteps and wasn't surprised when I saw Yentel walk into the room. Was she seriously wearing a reindeer sweater? Sweet Jesus. I pretended to be busy on my phone so she wouldn't start talking to me. It didn't work.

"Oh my goodness. It is so cold today. My four am run was barely manageable. I could hear the strain in my vocal chords when I started singing my second mile in. I can usually hit a high B easily, but I was struggling today. I need to start drinking more tea. Oh, and lemon and honey!" Was she expecting me to respond? Because she didn't even ask a question during that little rant of hers. I sent her the best you-are-getting-on-my-last-nerve face I could muster and looked back at my phone. She didn't say anything after that.

The next footsteps I heard were much quieter. I looked up from my phone, to find Brittany beaming down at me. I instantly cracked a grin. She sat down and shrugged off her messenger bag.

"Morning!" I don't know how she was always so cheerful.

"Hey, Britt. Oh, here. I don't even know if you'll like it, but I was getting a cup of coffee and thought you might like something…" My words got increasingly quieter and I started to get nervous. I handed her the cup and she happily took it. She smiled over at me and then shut her eyes and breathed in the steam coming from the small hole in the lid.

"hmmmm. Is this a peppermint mocha?" I nodded nervously.

"These are my favorite! Thank you so much, San!" Good. She liked them.

"You are very welcome, Britt." I felt my lips tug into a smile.

"How did you know I loved these? Oh my god! Are you psychic?" Her eyes were comically wide.

"Not quite. I just didn't think you would like black coffee. I don't know. I guess I just thought you would like something sweet. It just fit your personality when I saw it on the menu board."

"Well, thank you. I love when Kurt makes these for me. He is the guy who owns the shop you got these from. He's my best friend. Well, I think he is at least." She was besties with porcelain? Huh.

"He has really nice eyebrows." It was the truth.

"I know, right!" she giggled out. I was going to reply to her but the professor started talking. I caught her staring at me from my peripherals, but I didn't look her way. I could see a smile form on her lips. The little, secretive one she sent me from her doorstep. My heart rate picked up and I could feel my heart slam into my chest wall. She looked for a couple more seconds and then her eyes flickered down slightly. She blinked slowly and then turned her attention to the teacher.

Professor Hudson let us out of class early. I wasn't complaining. That gave me a couple more minutes with Brittany. We walked out the doors of the classroom and she took my empty cup. I was going to ask her what she was doing, but then she just dropped them into a nearby trashcan.

"Thanks again. That was like, a super nice surprise. So, what are you doing later tonight?" She asked casually.

"uhh, I have to work tonight from 8 to 1." I liked my job, so I didn't mind going to work. Even if it was a Friday night. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. Where do you work?" She seemed really interested.

"I bartend at The Golden Glass." I just shrugged. I actually really liked being a bartender.

"No way! I use to go there when I first moved here, but I haven't been in a pretty long time." I had never seen her there. I definitely would've remembered her if I saw her dance at the bar.

"Well, if you aren't busy, you should come out tonight. I actually work with Sam, the one in your dance class." She would definitely make my shift go by faster.

"Yeah. I'll totally visit you." She sounded really excited.

"Oh, and I know it is totally illegal, but I can serve you. The owner is super laid back, and all of my friends can drink there. I usually have a drink or two while I'm working." I wanted her to have fun tonight. I wonder how she would act when she was drunk.

"Seriously? That'd be awesome. I have to go to class. I'll see you tonight, then?" She sent me a hopeful look and I nodded.

"I'll see you tonight. Bye, Britt-Britt." She spun on her heel and walked to her Spanish class. I could feel my heart race at just the thought of watching her dance again. My heart raced at the thought of everything Brittany.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Glee. If i did, that really sad "Let's take a break" scene would have gone a lot differently.  
**

xBx

I placed the warm mocha on my desk when the teacher started talking. I was going to thank her again, but she was looking forward. I was so happy that I met her. Looking at Santana was becoming one of my favorite things to do. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever met. I could feel a small grin form on my lips as I let my eyes fall on to her. I bet they were really soft. I wonder if she ever looked at my lips. I didn't want her to notice my stare, so I looked elsewhere.

The fact that I was going out to see Santana tonight made my whole day go by slower. I was so excited, and unlike Wednesday, I was really looking forward to teaching my class. I was stretching in the center of the room when my class started to shuffle in. I instructed them to follow what I was doing to prepare for class. We picked up where we left off. Locking.

The sweat dripped down my brow and my abs were starting to get sore. My dance had started off as slow, instructional movements, but then I sort of forgot I was teaching, and let loose. I was so excited to see her. I was drawn out of my daydreaming dance when I noticed all of my students had stopped moving. They were all watching me with wide eyes. I slowed my movements.

"…Sorry…guys….I got…carried…away." I was out of breath. Everyone just sort of laughed and clapped a little bit.

"You guys can head out. It's Friday night. Go have fun!" I just wanted to go home and get ready for tonight. I turned off the music and everyone filtered out. I swept the floor quickly and then walked home. I fumbled with my key and finally unlocked my front door. I dropped my bag by the door and rushed into the bathroom. I started the shower so the water would warm up and brushed my teeth. I tugged off my clothes and stepped into the shower. The warm water loosened my tense muscles and the steam filled the bathroom.

I wrapped my towel snugly around my midsection and brushed through my hair. I blow-dried my hair and then walked over to my closet. I wanted to catch her eye, but I also wanted to be able to dance freely. My towel fell to the ground and I pulled out all of my dress options. I could wear the black cocktail dress? No, that wasn't comfortable enough to dance in. There was the single-sleeve grey one? Wait, no, I broke the heels that matched that. I picked up my sage green dress and instantly tossed on top of the other two discarded dresses. That was an awful color. I had the purple sleeveless dress, but then I would have to find my nice strapless bra. Oh, here we go. I pulled out my dark blue, single-sleeved dress. I stepped into it and finally zipped it up in the back. It landed about mid-thigh and was really comfortable to dance in.

I grabbed the black stilettos that went with my dress and shut off my bedroom light. I walked into my bathroom and pulled out my makeup bag. I applied a smoky-grey shadow and mascara. I lined my eye with a light amount of eyeliner. I didn't want to look like a raccoon. I curled my hair at the bottoms and gave myself a look over. I grabbed my purse and locked my front door. The bar wasn't far away, so I decided to walk. It was 9:37 when I got to The Golden Glass. I walked in the front door and tried to spot Santana. She had her back turned to me and was reaching for a bottle of vodka from a well-lit shelf. I walked over to the crowded bar and leaned on my elbows. She had a mixed drink in her hand and she slowly turned around and gave it to a girl a few feet away.

I saw her lean over the bar and tilt her head at a customer. She repeated his order and then reached under the bar and grabbed a glass. She hadn't seen me yet, and I kind of liked just watching her mix drinks. She was mesmerizing. She set the empty glass on the counter and looked down the bar at a pretty blonde with short hair. She looked like a lion. The blonde was asking her for a lemon and she kept her head turned towards the blonde and shuffled my way. She was right in front of me, but she was sidetracked. I saw her vanish and then her head surfaced. When she finally saw me her eyes ballooned and her mouth fell open slightly. She shut it and shook her head quickly.

"Hi,Britt. You loo-You look really-"She was stuttering but then she was cut off.

"Santana!Lemon!" She didn't turn her head at the noise. She just sort of stared at me. I saw her eyes scan the rest of my face and land on my lips. I had applied a thin layer of lip gloss right before I walked in. I could feel my cheeks heat up from her gaze.

"Jesus, Santana. What is taking you so long?" It was the lion girl. She grabbed the lemon out of Santana's hand. "Are you actually going to fix that guy his drink?" The blonde was snappy. Before Santana could respond she walked away.

"Uhh-Oh, sorry. I will be right back…" She frantically grabbed the bottle of gin and went back to the guy's order. She filled the glass with ice and then splashed the gin over it. She screwed the cap back on and picked up a thing of tonic. She looked my way briefly and fumbled with the bottle. A small amount of tonic spilled on the counter and she finally finished mixing the guy's drink. She slid it over to him and he walked off. She started making her way back to me.

"It's so busy in here! I don't know how you do it." I was seriously impressed.

"Pure skill,baby. Pure skill." She literally 'brushed her shoulder off' and I giggled at her response.

"So what can I get you, Britt?" She wasn't stuttering anymore.

"Well, since you seem to know what I like to drink, surprise me?" I knew I was smiling at her. I was always smiling at her. She sent a playful wink my way and I seriously wished I could control time. I would repeat her wink over and over and over again. She could so easily change from cute, stuttering Santana, to sexy, playful Santana. I didn't know which side I liked better.

I watched her grab a glass and was waiting to see what she would put in it.

"No looking!" She yelled over to me and I couldn't help but giggle at her. I shut my eyes and then covered them with my hands. I heard the clanking of different bottles and loud voices. There was music playing, but it wasn't ridiculously loud. I really wanted to peek but I also wanted to be surprised. I heard a glass hit the counter in front of me and then I felt hands gently grip my wrists and pull them away from my eyes. I opened one eye and then the other. Santana was leaning over the bar and resting on her elbows. I picked up the glass. It had a pink tint to it and was a little fizzy. I took a sip through the little straw. It tasted like raspberry heaven. Mmmm.

"How did I do?" She was sending me a playful smirk, but her eyes were serious; like she really wanted me to like the drink. I took another sip and looked her directly in the eye. I licked my lips.

"mmm. This tastes like skittles and vodka." She laughed at my response.

"So you like it?"

"It's my new favorite." I grinned at her. She opened her mouth to respond but another customer was trying to order. I waited for her to mix his drink. When she started walking back to me, she got interrupted again. She sent me a little frown. I pointed to the dance floor and she nodded. I took a few big sips and she walked over and took my drink.

"I'm going to put your drink under the lip of this table so no one touches it. Go dance!" She walked away and so did I.

The dance floor wasn't too crowded, and as soon as I started to dance a few guys migrated around me. I swayed my hips along with the beat to get comfortable with the song. A stocky, but attractive, guy started to dance in front me. He smiled and once we made eye contact he got a little closer.

"I'm Alex! Mind if I dance with you?" I liked that he danced. I just nodded and turned around so my back was facing his front. I felt his hands fall on my hips and I was surprised when they didn't fall lower on my thighs. He tried his best to keep up but when he realized he couldn't, he gave me a little space so I could do my own thing. A few songs passed and I was starting to feel sweaty. I slipped between the people I had been dancing with and went back over to the bar.

Santana was talking to the blonde girl and looking at me. Sam was there too now, but he was at the other side of the bar dealing with a customer. I wonder when he got there. I would make sure to say hi. When I got closer I saw Santana mumbled something to Quinn and the girl just raised her eyebrow and put her hands up in a surrendering position.

"You look hot- I mean…like warm. I mean you look nice…" I decided to put her out of her mystery.

"Thanks. It gets really warm on the dance floor. Wait, where is my drink again?" She walked over to where I had been standing and picked up my glass. She slid it over to me. I downed the rest of it and she instantly started refilling it.

"I wish you weren't working right now! I want to dance with you!" It was true.

" , probably not. There is no way I could keep up with you. I'm not really a good dancer." I think she was just being modest.

"I'm sure you are way better than you give yourself credit for." She just wrinkled her nose and shook her head. I took a few more sips out of my new drink and walked back to the dance floor when she had another customer.

I went right back to the group I was dancing with before. There was a taller guy with dirty-blond hair who was actually pretty good at dancing. I threw my arms around his neck and started swaying with him. When a more familiar song came on I removed my arms and started to dougie. Everyone started to laugh and attempt to mimic me.

I was three drinks in, or maybe four? Yeah, four, and was definitely tipsy. My dancing had turned from fun to flirtatious and I got more daring. I put my hand in my hair and felt my shirt lift up as I rubbed my hand over my abs. It was almost one. The bar closed at three and the dance floor had gotten pretty crowded. I said goodnight to the people I had danced with and walked to the bar. I felt myself stumble. Why did I wear these heels?

Santana was wiping her hands on a towel and saying something to Sam. She kissed him on the cheek and she sent her a warm smile. I called out her name and she whipped her head my way.

"Are yoooou goin home, too?" I was drunk, but not the gross drunk where you want to puke. The fun drunk where you smile and laugh at everything. She put her thick hoodie on over her long-sleeve black shirt.

"Yeah. You want me to call you a cab?" I didn't want to sit in a car. I wanted to walk with her. I shook my head.

"I want to walk with you!"

"Are you sure?" I don't think I responded. She walked around the bar and put her arm around my waist.

"Let's get you home." She was smiling a little bit but she looked tired, too.

When we first started walking, the cold air felt nice, but we were two blocks away and I was getting really cold. I think she noticed because she made us stop walking and unzipped her sweatshirt.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. You're freezing." She put my left arm in first and then my right one. She zipped it up above my chest and started rubbing her arms up and down my arms to warm me up.

"But…but you are going to be cold!" I felt bad for making her give me her hoodie. Well, I guess she sort of volunteered to give it to me. I still felt bad.

"I'll be okay. Let's keep going." She didn't look mad or annoyed.

When we reached my apartment building I stumbled up the steps and she grabbed my arm to steady me.

"Here. Let me see your key. Hold on so you don't trip." She was giving me permission to touch her? I threw my arms around her neck and put my head on her shoulder. She opened my front door and walked inside. I stayed latched onto her neck.

"Britt, I don't mean to sound rude…but could you…loosen your grip a…little? I can't really breathe." Her words were a little choppy.

"Oh, I'm sorry, San!" I instantly let go of her, but I moved a little too fast, and felt my head spin.

"How are you feeling?" She was steadying my body by holding my shoulders.

"I'm great. A little drunk…and a little tired. Actually, I'm really tired." The idea of lying in my warm bed sounded extremely appealing. "Are you tired? You look really worn down."

"Yeah. I'm really tired." I wanted her to go get some sleep.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to help me anymore. I'll be okay." She looked a little skeptical, but she nodded.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm not that drunk. Oh wait can you just undo the top part of my zipper though?" This zipper was a tricky one. I took off sweatshirt and turned around. She gently unzipped me. I faced her.

"…Okay, well then I'm going to go home." She was the one who made the first move this time.

Her arms wrapped around my neck and the sudden change in movement caused me to stumble back and out of her hold. She looked really embarrassed.

"Sorr-"I hadn't meant to stumble back. Especially away from a Santana hug. She cut me off with the same word.

"Sorry. I didn't mea-Sorry." I couldn't help but find her embarrassment a little odd.

"Never say sorry for hugging me." I tilted my head and waited for her to look at me. When she did, she wasn't really smiling. She kind of looked scared.

"Can I try again?" Her voice sounded so small and quiet, even though she was standing so close to me.

"Please do." I whispered back to her. I don't really know why, but she just stood still for a couple of seconds. I was going to speak up or hug her first, but I wanted her to make the first, well second, first move.

She looped her arms around my neck, but she didn't step into me. I dropped her sweatshirt onto the floor. I waited for her to embrace me a little more, but when she didn't, I wrapped my arms around her waist.

I heard her take a shaky breath in. I moved my right hand up the curve of her back and she tensed. I didn't know what was going on with her, but she was shaking. Little tiny shakes.

I didn't want to pull her into my body, so I stepped into hers instead. I started to move my right hand the rest of the way up her back. I drew little circles between her shoulder blades and then moved my hand back down. She didn't move. I repeated the movement with my hand and spread my left hand flat against her lower back. I didn't want to ask her if she was okay, because obviously she wasn't.

"Santana? It's okay…" I whispered into the air next to her ear. I squeezed her a little tighter, but not too tight, because she felt really fragile right now. I had sobered up almost completely. She stepped into me and my whole chest felt warm. She leaned her cheek against my collar bone and exhaled slowly. She wasn't crying, because I would have felt the wetness on my skin. Her cheek started to slide up and I felt her eyelashes tickle the side of my neck.

I kept drawing little circles on her upper back, but my arm started to feel like it was asleep so I slid it back down, and started using my left hand instead. She didn't say anything, and neither did I. We just stood still. I felt her shaking stop and her breathing felt stronger. She nuzzled into my neck with her nose and then she pulled her face away. I kept my arms wrapped around her until she started to pull her arms off of me.

She looked down at the ground.

"Hey?" I didn't want her to look at the ground. I wanted her to look at me. She lifted her gaze and I sent her a little smile. She didn't return it and she didn't look like she was about to start talking anytime soon. So I did.

"Do you want to come to the studio tomorrow?" She quirked her brow.

"I have to work on that routine you saw and I thought you might want to hang out and….I don't know… maybe help inspire me or something." I started to get a little nervous.

"You don't have to if you have plans. I just thought you might have fun. Maybe you could teach me some new moves?" She smiled at the last part of my sentence.

"Yeah…I'd like that…I'm going to go home. I am really tired and I have to work- oh wait, I work tomorrow night from 6 the 8…I could go to the studio when I get off?" I nodded at her.

"Go get some sleep." I opened my door and she stepped into my hallway.

"I'm sor-" She was going to apologize for the hug.

"I told you to never apologize for hugging me, and I meant it, really." She smiled at me and whispered goodnight. I shut the door and locked it. I brushed my teeth and then unzipped my dress the rest of the way. It fell into a lump at my feet and I crawled into bed. I pulled my sheets up to my neck and closed my eyes.

xSx

I wanted to touch her, but I wanted her to want to touch me just as much. I looped my arms around her neck for the second time. She put her arms around my waist and then she waited. I had to focus on my breathing. I felt her hand slowly slide up my lower back. My heart started to pound. I didn't want to want her. It would be so much easier if she just let go of me. She didn't let me go, though. She stepped into me.

I felt her hand continue to move up my back and stop at the top. She made little circles and then went back down. She paused and then started to repeat her movements. Her hand flattened on my lower back.

"Santana? It's okay…"That's all she said, and I crumbled. I stepped into her body even more and laid my cheek against her collar bone. I could feel her chest expand when she inhaled and I could hear her heart thump quietly in my ear. I wanted to get as close as I possibly could. I slid my cheek up to her neck and closed my eyes. She gently ran her arm back down my spine and then stopped moving. I missed the feeling of her movements, and then they started back up again. She was using her other hand.

I would skip sleep for this. I pushed into her neck with my nose and was about to kiss her there. But I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable or anything. I pulled my arms off of her and stepped back a little. I couldn't look her in the eye. I don't think I would be able to control myself if I started kissing her neck.

"Hey?" She was talking really quietly. "Do you want to come to the studio tomorrow?" The dance studio?

"I have to work on that routine you saw and I thought you might want to hang out and….I don't know… maybe help inspire me or something. You don't have to if you have plans. I just thought you might have fun. Maybe you could teach me some new dance moves?" She was sort of rambling. It was sweet. I couldn't help but laugh at her dancing comment. I would look like a fish out of water net to her.

"Yeah…I'd like that…I'm going to go home. I am really tired and I have to work- oh wait, I work tomorrow night from 6 the 8…I could go to the studio when I get off?" I started to regret switching shifts with Sam.

She opened her door and told me to go to bed. I felt bad for what had just happened.

"I told you to never apologize for hugging me, and I meant it, really." She somehow knew what I needed to hear. I walked out of her building and got ready for bed. I got under my covers, but I wasn't tired anymore. I stared at my ceiling. I wanted to be close to her again. I had left her place about twenty minutes ago. Maybe she was still up?

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's Santana…I thought I was really tired, but I can't really fall asleep…" I don't know why I called her.

"Don't count sheep. That totally doesn't work." I felt my lips pull into a smile and giggled.

"I'm sorry for calling you." I know she had a few drinks, she probably felt even more lethargic than I did.

"Stop apologizing for silly stuff." I shut my eyes and pictured her in my head, all curled under her covers like I was now.

"Yeah, but you are trying to sleep…and stuff." I started to feel bad for calling.

"Santana, I am awake now. And I like hugging you and I like talking to you." My whole body felt warm when she said that. I didn't know what else to say, because thanking her sounded weird in my head.

"You know what we can do?" She sounded excited. I hummed out a quiet 'what'. "Play the question game. Duh." I could hear the smile on her lips.

"Okay. How do we play?"

"It's easy. I ask you a question and you have to answer truthfully no matter what, but you never have to go into depth unless you want to. And then you get to ask me a question. And so on and so forth." She was talking a little louder. She was definitely starting to wake up a little more. I think I wanted to know everything about her. Yeah. I did.

"Okay. Yeah." I shut my eyes and listened to her speak.

"Alright…ummmmm…what is your major?"

"Law. My mother wanted me to be a lawyer." That's all I said. "Why do you like ducks so much?" I heard her breath hitch. I could hear her on the other line but she wasn't talking. "Britt?"

"…My uhh…I used to go to the park every Sunday morning with my mom…and we would feed the ducks while my dad went to church." Her voice sounded a little shaky.

"Do you actually want to be a lawyer?" She asked me when her voice steadied.

"I don't know. I guess it's not my dream, but it will make my parents stay off my back." I shrugged my shoulders even though she couldn't see me. "Do you have any siblings?"

" you?"

"Nah. Only child." We had that in common. "Where are you from?"

"Lima, Ohio. Boring, I know." I didn't give her a chance to ask a question.

"Oh! I'm from Columbus. Cool. Okay, hit me." I don't think I would like this game if I played with anyone else, but I loved playing it with her.

"Okay, what do you do in your spare time?" What do I do in my spare time…

"Hmm. I play piano, well keyboard because I live in an apartment, and sing…I really like to sing." Sam and I always sing little duets together, because he actually has a really good voice.

"No way. Can I hear you? I bet you are really good at it." She sounded excited.

"Why do you think I would be really good at it?" I laughed out.

"I don't know…You just seem like you would be good at everything." That was sweet.

"Trust me. I'm not." I muttered out quietly but she caught it.

"Why do you do that?" I felt my forehead bunch together in confusion.

"Do what?" I asked her in my normal voice.

"It's like…you look really confident but then you say stuff like that." She sounded sincere and I was fighting to keep my walls up.

"What are you talking about?" I knew my voice sounded snappy.

"Why do you always look at the ground instead of my eyes?" I sat up in bed and felt my head rush. I tried to steady my breathing and wildly beating heart. I couldn't find my voice.

"I uhh-" I coughed a little to try to clear my throat. She started talking again.

"Sorry. I'm breaking the rules I made up." I could hear the sincerity in her regretful sadness.

"No, it's okay. I just, I wasn't expecting that. Can we finish talking tomorrow night? I really need to go to bed."

"…yeah, of course we can. Goodnight San." She was talking a little quieter than before.

"Goodnight, Britt." I ended the call and put my phone next to my pillow.

I didn't fall asleep until 4 and I didn't wake up until 3.

xBx

I could feel the stretch all the way up my thigh. It was almost eight and I really hoped she would show up. The first thing I would do is apologize for what I said last night. Santana was so sweet to me and I wanted to be sweet to her. She deserved to have someone be sweet to her. She could definitely find someone way prettier than me, and smarter, and funnier. She could have anyone she wanted, because she was the most beautiful person in the world.

Santana had been on my mind all day long. She had been on my mind all day long since the first day we met. I had never thought about a person all day long before. Except for my mom, she was on my mind a lot. I really wish she was here right now, because she would know what to say to me. She would smile at me as I told her all about Santana, and I would blush because I had never felt this way before. She wouldn't care that Santana was a girl. If my mom wouldn't have cared, I wouldn't care. I liked Santana.

I stood up and put my iPod on its dock. I scrolled through my songs until I found my assignment's song. I put it on repeat and turned up the volume. The music wrapped around my body and it was like the lyrics moved my limbs for me. I wanted Santana to see me dance, because when I was dancing I couldn't hide behind anything. I was completely in the open. Vulnerable. I wanted her to realize that if she ever needed to be vulnerable, or crumble, she could come to me and I would pick up all of the pieces and put them back together for her.

I heard the door click and stopped my movements. She looked tired and last night flooded into my mind. I shouldn't have broken the rules. That was mean.

She put her purse on the ground and took off her jacket. I walked over to her and stood directly in front of her.

"Hey" I wasn't whispering but I wasn't really talking with my normal voice.

"Hi." I could hear her exhale through her nose. I didn't really know what to say, so I started off with my apology.

"I'm sorry for breaking the rules." I saw the corner of her lip lift into a tiny smile. A smile was a good sign; at least she wasn't that mad.

"You don't have to apologize, I shouldn't have…snapped…at you." Her smile grew a little more. "Plus, I was the one who called you at like 2 in the morning…"

"I liked that you called." She looked down at the ground again. I think my question from last night invaded her mind because as soon as she looked down, her head snapped back up and she gave me a sheepish smile. She opened her mouth and then closed it a couple of times.

"You look like a little goldfish when you do that." A dark crimson color spread delicately across her cheeks. I didn't want her to feel embarrassed. I sucked my cheeks into my mouth and made a fishy face. Her dimples were showing now. We were fine. I turned around and walked back over to my iPod. I turned the song back on. I saw her reflection in the mirrors. She took a few steps closer to me, and sort of just stood there.

"Wanna learn the routine?" I really wanted to see her dance.

"No way, I can't dance." She wrapped her arms around her body.

"Pleeeease? It will be fun!" She shook her head. Maybe if I started to dance she would see how much fun it was.

"Your loss." I sent her a playful smirk and restarted the song.

_This year's love had better last  
Heaven knows it's high time  
And I've been waiting on my own too long_

She had a small smile on her lips as she watched me dance.

_But when you hold me like you do  
It feels so right  
I start to forget  
How my heart gets torn  
When that hurt gets thrown  
Feeling like you can't go on_

Her arms tightened around her body. Her eyes were flickering so fast.

_Turning circles when time again  
It cuts like a knife oh yeah  
If you love me got to know for sure  
Cos it takes something more this time  
Than sweet, sweet lies  
Before I open up my arms and fall  
Losing all control_

I stopped dancing and turned the volume down. She was starting at me. Directly in the eyes and I could feel my chest tighten.

"That's all I have so far." Her eyes were so brown and inviting. I think I could look at them all day long. "I just haven't been able to choreograph anything else lately."

"How do you do it?"

"How do I dance? I don't know. My mom put me in lessons when I was three and I've been dancing ever since." She shook her head a little. I sent her a confused look.

"You just, I don't think you realize how beautiful your dancing is…Or something…" Santana had this way of making my heart beat faster than normal, and I cherished every moment of it. All that was going through my head was how nice Santana is.

"You are so sweet." She let out a little scoff.

"Thanks, but I'm really not sweet."

"You're sweet to me." She tilted her head and then looked at the ground.

"Yeah…I guess I am." She smiled up at me. I walked a little closer to her.

"Please dance with me. I promise you will have fun." I held my hands out for her and she hesitated. I could see the muscles in her arms flex through her shirt. She pulled her mouth to one side and stared at me. She looked nervous. Kind of like when you see a little kid about to ride a rollercoaster for the first time. They are beyond excited because they are finally tall enough, but also are incredibly scared.

Her left hand slowly reached out for my own. I know I was beaming. I pulled her over to where I had been dancing. "I'm so excited."

She laughed at my enthusiasm. I started the song over and slowly did the movements. She looked so cute when she lifted her leg across her waist. She doesn't have very good balance cause she tilted over into me. I steadied her and we both started laughing.

"Don't laugh! I told you I wasn't good at dancing and that was hard!" She was smiling the whole time she said that.

"Sorry. You are right. Just relax and try again." I restarted the song. She wasn't looking at herself in the mirror, she was watching her feet. She didn't fall this time. I taught her the next four steps and we put it all together. I was watching her in the mirror as she watched her feet. Her tongue was sticking out and I could tell she was really concentrating. She randomly looked into the mirror and caught my gaze. I started giggling.

"Oh man. Did I do a move wrong?" She looked embarrassed.

"No, you were perfect. You just…you stick your tongue out when you concentrate." I was going to tell her it was super adorable, but I already saw her cheeks start to blush.

"Oh my god. Do I really?" I nodded at her and turned to look at her real body, not just her reflection. She covered her face with her hands. "That is so embarrassing. You are over there being all awesome and I'm here looking like a dork."

"A very cute dork" She lifted one of her hands from her face and looked at me. She looked like she was playing peek-a-boo with a little kid.

"Oh my god stop, Britt." She was giggling a little but she looked really nervous.

"Stop what?"

"…Stop being so nice to me." I felt my brow furrow.

"You deserve to have people be nice to you." It was simple. She removed her hands from her face.

"How do you know that?" She didn't sound bitchy. She sounded confused and small. Really, really small.

"Because" If I had to explain it to her, it would take a while.

"Because?" She started to fidget with her fingers.

"I really need to come up with a few new steps." I didn't mean to deflect; I just didn't want her to feel weird. Her shoulders fell a little but she nodded. I restarted the song and she kept up until she didn't know any more of the steps. I kept going. Just having her next to me gave me so many so new ideas. I danced through the rest of the verse I hadn't choreographed yet. I redid the moves a few times until I knew I would remember them.

"Did you just make that up in like 5 minutes?" She looked shocked.

"Yeah." I shrugged. "Did it look okay?" She quickly nodded.

"I don't know how you do it. I'm impressed."

"Well thank you." I bowed and she started laughing. It was 9:45. I wasn't tired, but I didn't want to make up any more new steps. I would forget if I choreographed too much.

"I'm not going to choreograph anymore tonight; I don't want to forget the steps." I pulled out the broom and started to sweep.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh, nah. I just have to sweep. Thanks for coming tonight. It was fun" She made dancing way better. I didn't even know it could get better.

"Yeah, tonight was…nice." She was talking quietly. She walked over to the door and I put the broom back. She put her jacket on and her purse over her shoulder. She started to twiddle with her fingers again.

"Uhm…Do you want to come over tonight? I just…I was going to go home and watch some movies. Order take-out…" A movie night with Santana sounded like a really good idea.

"Oh my gosh. A movie night sounds perfect. I would love to come over!" I was so excited.

I shut the lights off and grabbed my stuff. We started walking home. This time the walk wasn't silent. We started asking each other questions, but nothing too deep. Just easy topics like what her favorite color is, what her favorite animal is, what her favorite song is, does the guy from Shamwow do cocaine. Red. Sea Turtle. Hallelujah. She just laughed at the last one.

"I'm just going to go take a shower and change. I'll be over in like…20 minutes?" She smiled and walked into her building. I sprinted up the stairs of my apartment building and flew into my place. I brushed my teeth while the water heated up and picked out some sweats and a top. I don't think I had ever showered so fast in my life. I just really wanted to see her. I brushed my hair and didn't bother with makeup. I locked my apartment door and walked over to hers. I didn't hesitate to knock this time.

"Come in, Britt!" Her yell was muffled by the door. I stepped into her apartment and didn't see her. I was about to call out her name, but then I saw her head poke around a corner. She smiled really big at me.

I took my shoes off and walked into the room she was in. The kitchen.

"Ughhh. This smells like, ridiculously good." I was so hungry and Santana gotten a pizza.

She got out two plates and two glasses.

"Drink?" I just told her water again. I think she would catch on soon, if we kept hanging out like this that I would always ask for water. She filled up both glasses and nodded to the living room. I got the hint and took both plates and the pizza into the living space. I put the pizza down, and was about to sit on the floor again.

"Britt, sit on the couch." She kind of giggled it out.

"I really don't want to spill anything. This couch probably cost you a lot of money."

"My dad bought me that couch. I don't care what happens to it." Her tone changed and her eyes got a little wide after she said that. Did she not like her dad? I didn't want to argue so I sat on the couch. I sat all the way to the left and she walked around the table to my right. I put a piece of pizza on each plate.

"Okay." She shut off the lights and grabbed the remote. She was sitting on the lip of the couch and eating. She had a mouthful of cheese and crust when she started talking. It may have been the cutest thing I have ever seen.

"Wha' you anna acth?" She had movies on demand and was scrolling through the titles. I didn't care what we watched. I would probably end up just looking at her instead.

"Can you pick?" She just shrugged her shoulders and kept looking. She was almost done with her piece of pizza and so was I. Insidious was highlighted. She looked over at me and raised her eyebrow.

"Sure. I have no clue what it is about." I had never heard of it, but I' pretty sure it was going to be scary judging by the cover photo. She popped the last piece of crust into her mouth and sat back on the couch. She was right in the middle. I put my plate down and leaned back against the couch cushion.

The only source of light in the apartment was coming from the television screen. It made Santana's face look blue, but then the movie started playing and the blue light went away. I hate the dark. I lifted my legs and tucked them into my chest.

"Just a fair warning: I don't handle scary movies well. So prepare yourself." I wasn't joking.

"I think I can manage you." I swallowed thickly. My mouth felt dry and when I tried to lick my lips, I felt how chapped there were. I drank my whole glass of water. Santana just smirked. The movie started, and fifteen minutes in, I was dying to be closer to her.

"Are you shivering?" I didn't even notice how cold I was. I had goosebumps, so I nodded. Santana got up from the couch and walked into another room. I did not like watching this without her. Not at all. I felt a tight grip on my shoulders and let out a high pitched squeak. I turned around so fast I almost fell off of the couch. Santana was just laughing. I pouted at her and she instantly started to backtrack.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I just…couldn't resist." She walked back around with a thick blanket in her hands. I think it was her bed comforter. She flopped onto the couch, except this time I could feel her thigh hit mine. She didn't move away and I was really happy. She reached across my body and put the blanket in place. I watched her the whole time. I could feel her weight pressing into me and I didn't want the pressure to go away. She returned to her spot next to me and picked her feet up and tucked them under her body. Both of our bodies where covered, except for our heads. I bet we looked like cute, little prairie dogs.

A couple of minutes passed and I could tell something was about to happen because the music was really spooky. I grabbed the blanket and pulled it under my nose. It smelled just like her. I took as many deep breaths as I could, but then the scary scene happened. I automatically hid my face in the nook of Santana's neck. I felt her breath hitch.

"You can look now. The scary part is over." I turned my head to the television but kept my head on her shoulder. I felt her pull the blanket off of the top of her body.

"Sorry. I was…hot." Now both of our hands where above the blanket. I watched her play with her fingers. Pulling and bending them. My left arm was pinned under my body but my right hand was in the open. I slowly moved my arm and rested my hand on her arm, the one that was supporting my head.

I felt her face turn into the top of my head and heard her inhale. I thought she was just looking to see what I was doing with my hand, but she kept her head on mine. I started making small circles with my thumb on her bicep. She tensed at first, but then she melted under my touch she leaned more weight onto me and I had to readjust. I was happy she hadn't told me to get off of her.

"You're comfy." I wish I could cuddle with her all the time. I wish I could wrap both of my arms around her and lay down completely. I don't know if she would like that though. I didn't know what she liked.

"So are you." I felt her smile against my hair. We stayed attached for the rest of the movie. Santana would tell me when the scary part was over and I would open my eyes. When the credits started rolling she muted the noise with the remote. Did I have to move because the movie was over? I didn't want to move away from her. I would let her decide how long we would stay in this position.

"I don't get why people like the feeling of being scared." I never wanted to feel sad, or scared, or angry. I just wanted to be happy all of the time.

"Scary movies are fun…and they make real life seem…less scary." I felt her lift her shoulders like she was shrugging. I didn't want her to feel scared. Ever.

"I don't think life is scary. I think that sometimes people think they are all alone in the world, and the thought of never finding someone is scary. I think the reason everyone is on this planet, is to find their other half and experience the world and all of its beauty. And sometimes the most beautiful things are the scariest." I wasn't really sure why I said that. I just thought she needed to hear it.

"But what if not everyone finds their…other half?" She was talking really quietly. She definitely wasn't talking about the movie anymore. As much as I didn't want to move, I wanted to look her in the eyes for this. I sat up and turned on the couch so I was facing her.

"Do you know when you see someone that looks so perfect and you don't understand how it is possible for something so beautiful to even exist? And you are afraid to meet them because you think they are going to be really awful on the inside?" Her nod was weak. "You deserve to have people be nice to you because you are one of the most beautiful things on this planet. Beautiful things are scary, but you're not scary, Santana." She was looking directly into my eyes. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to her cheek. I let them linger and soak up some of her heat. I pulled my lips back but kept my face near her ear. I whispered to her. "You are beautiful. All of you." I started to lean back, but she wrapped her arms around my back and held me in place. I moved my hands and gripped her hips. My hands slid around her back and I pulled her into me. She didn't fight the movement and she nestled into me. My back hit the arm of the couch and I extended my legs. She was sitting between my things, but her body relaxed and she let go and lay directly on top of me. Her face was resting in the crook of my neck.

I ran the tips of my fingers up and down her spine. She shivered and I pulled the blanket over her back. I could feel her breath on my neck. Deep, long, thick streams of air pressed into my skin. She shuffled her head closer and I could hear her mouth open. I was waiting for her to say something. But she didn't talk. My hand stopped moving.

I felt her lips graze my neck. My heart was smashing into my chest. I heard her take in a shaky breath and then I felt her lips again. This time wasn't a graze. She took my skin in her mouth and sucked lightly. I felt my stomach flip. She let go of my neck and exhaled. Her breathing changed. Each puff of air that hit my neck was light and quick. I started to move my hand again. My fingertips scraped up and down her back lightly. I pressed the pads of my fingers into her lower back and held my breath.

Her head shifted. A warm, velvety surface, dragged across my skin and her lips followed in its wake. All of the blood in my body rushed between my legs and I held back a moan. I pressed my fingertips into her back harder. She pulled my now wet skin into her mouth and sucked harder. Harder. Harder. She released my sensitive skin and placed a feather-light kiss to it. I felt her lips tremble every time they touched my skin. She froze and then placed her hands on my shoulders and pushed her body up. My hands slipped to her hips. She looked so terrified.

"I…sor-I didn't…I shouldn't have done…that." She was stuttering and her eyes where flickering around so, so fast. I didn't want her to apologize. I wanted her to like kissing my neck. I wanted her to like me.

"…I liked it…" I had gotten really good at keeping eye contact. But now I felt scared. I turned my eyes away from her and looked over to the black TV screen.

"Brittany?" I felt my throat start to squeeze and my eyes start to well up. No tears fell. My eyes probably looked really glossy. Why would she kiss my neck and then tell me she shouldn't have. If she was going to act like that, she shouldn't have kissed me at all.

"Why can't you ever look me in the eyes then?" My voice was so quiet. I didn't even think she heard me until she responded.

"I just…" She paused for a really long time. I looked up at her to see why she wasn't talking. Her eyes were closed tightly and it made her eyelids crinkle. I could see her jaw clench and then unclench. I didn't think she was going to respond. I was sad that she stopped kissing, but I couldn't watch her like this.

I reached my right hand off of her hip and stroked my thumb against her jaw. She instantly leaned into my touch. I sat up so my face was level with hers. She hadn't opened her eyes yet. I leaned closer to her and slid her hair over her shoulder. I looked at her neck. I licked my lips and then pressed them into her skin. I could feel her breathing stop. I pulled back and then kissed her again under her jaw. I could feel her heart beat though her skin. I wanted to taste her. If she didn't like this, all she had to do is say stop.

I opened my mouth and licked her before sucking her skin into my mouth. Delicious. Her breathing was really shaky. Her fingers tangled in my hair and she lightly pressed my head further into her. She wanted this. She liked this. I exhaled and sucked more of her into my mouth. I bit down gently and she let out a quiet moan. It was the sexiest thing I had ever heard. I didn't know what to do. Was I supposed to just keep kissing her neck? I pulled back.

"Santana?" I leaned away from her. Her eyes fluttered open.

"I don't, I've never done…this." I gestured between us. This was too much too fast.

"With a girl?" Her voice sounded extra raspy. No, not with a girl, with anyone. I was pathetic.

"Uhh,no…wit-with anyone." Her eyebrows furrowed a little and she tilted her head slightly.

"You're…a virgin?" Her words were soft but questioning. I dropped eye contact and nodded. My body warmed because I think if I kept kissing her neck we might have done something. I didn't even know she liked girls. I don't think she did either.

"I've never been like…attracted…to anyone before." I was so embarrassed. "This is really embarrassing. You probably think I'm weird…" I felt like I could cry. Her touch was unexpected.

"I think that is amazing actually." Her thumb stroked under my eye and I could feel the wetness. A tear must have fallen. "Are you umm…are you…attracted to me?" I nodded into her palm. She didn't say anything. I finally looked at her. Her smile was really, really small and her brow was furrowed slightly. She pulled her hand into her chest and moved away from me. Our bodies weren't touching anymore.

"I'm going to go home." I stood up and walked over to her door. I bent down and slipped on both of my shoes. I had my hand on her doorknob and looked over my shoulder at her. Her door creaked as I pulled it open. She didn't look up at me. She didn't do anything. So I left.

xSx

"You are beautiful. All of you." Her breath hit the shell of my ear. I wanted to be closer. I had wanted to be closer the whole movie. I threw my arms around her when she started to lean back. Her hands slid around my lower back and she pulled me on top of her. I had never lain on top of a girl. They were softer and smelled better than guys. Brittany was better than a guy. My lips were so close to her neck. I was going to whisper a quiet thank you into her ear, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I leaned in. My lips tingled as a small shock shot through my body straight to my center.

She stopped scratching my back. I took in a deep breath and kissed her again. Her pulse was rapid. I sucked on her skin and my toes curled. I couldn't stop myself and when her fingertips pressed into my lower back, I didn't try to stop myself. I licked up her neck and caught the skin in my lips. The harder she pressed the harder I kissed. The smell of coconut invaded my senses. Brittany. I was kissing Brittany. And she wasn't stopping me.

I pushed my body up. Her eyes where a darker blue and her face was flushed.

"I…sor-I didn't…I shouldn't have done…that." I saw her face fall.

"…I liked it…" The light from the screen illuminated her eyes. They were glossed over. Was she about to cry?

"Brittany?" I tried to get her attention, but she didn't move. Her question threw me off guard.

"Why can't you ever look me in the eyes then?" I didn't have an answer for her. She just made me feel this pull in my chest.

"I just" I didn't know what to say to her. I didn't want her to cry. I had no idea what to say. I was so frustrated because she made me feel so many _things _that I had never felt. Her thumb traced my jaw and I instantly searched for more of her. I kept my eyes closed. I couldn't look at her. Looking at her made me really scared because she was a her, not a him. I felt my hair tickle the back of my neck and then I felt her. She felt so good.

She moved her lips to my pulse point. I know she could feel how fast my heart was beating. I loved the feeling of her exploring my neck. My fingers crawled up her back and tangled in her hair. I didn't want her to stop. I pressed her into me further. As soon as she pulled back my neck felt cold.

"Santana?" Her voice was quiet. I opened my eyes. She was so close.

"I don't, I've never done…this." She looked overwhelmed.

"With a girl?" Neither have I.

"Uhh,no…wit-with anyone." She was stuttering and talking really quietly.

"You're…a virgin?" We went from neck kisses to sex in seconds. She dropped her gaze and nodded. She looked so defeated.

"I've never been like…attracted…to anyone before. This is really embarrassing. You probably think I'm weird…" A little tear started to build in the corner of her eye. I caught it before it started to stream down her cheek. Seeing her cry was awful. Brittany was so perfect and innocent. I was her exact opposite. She was the beautiful one.

"I think that is amazing actually." Brittany deserved someone so amazing. "Are you umm…are you…attracted to me?" When I felt her nod I froze. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I was the first person she has ever been attracted to. Brittany deserved someone so much better than me. I didn't deserve her. I moved away from her.

"I'm going to go home." She sounded so deflated. I couldn't watch her leave. I wanted her too much to watch her leave. I wanted her too much. When my door closed I just sat still. I could still feel her lips on my neck and I could still taste her on mine.

My legs felt like jelly when I stood up. I put the pizza in the fridge and shut off my TV. I locked the front door and brushed my teeth. I didn't look at myself in the mirror once. I didn't want to see what she was doing to me. I wrapped my comforter around my body. I felt cold as soon as I stopped touching her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this update is so late. I've had some serious writer's block. Anyways, thank you for reading and review, it is nice to hear what you guys think of my story! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. It's a shame, I know. **

xBx

Ripples were coming from every different direction. The little piece of bread doubled in size as it landed in the water. I tugged my sweatshirt up so half of my face was covered by the material and I breathed in. I just wanted to smell her again. Her scent was completely gone. I couldn't smell anything other than myself. I tore another piece of bread off and tossed it into the lake. There weren't a lot of ducks out here this morning. I think it was getting too cold for them. Maybe they weren't awake yet, it was just before six in the morning.

I threw the last piece of bread into the water and watched it float around before a little duck swam away with it. The sun was just coming up and the air was really crisp. The tips of my ears felt like ice cubes, so i decided to walk back to my apartment. The park was kind of far away, it was like a twenty minute walk. The city streets were pretty bare. I guess a lot of people don't like to walk around at six in the morning on a Sunday. Especially when it felt so chilly out.

I pushed my door open and walked into my apartment. I had already brushed my teeth and showered. I didn't really sleep last night. Santana's kisses kept creeping into my mind and then her rejection followed shortly after. I didn't think I would be so upset, I had only known her for a week. Maybe I was sad because I had never felt anything like this before.

I could remember everything she did last night. When her lips first touched me it was such a light graze, it could have been accidental. It wasn't an accident though. My whole body felt like it was on fire when she kissed me the second time. And the third and the fourth and the fifth and sixth. I wonder what I would do if she kissed me on the lips. I don't know if that will be happening anytime soon. I don't know what is going to happen to us. Well, maybe me and her, we weren't anywhere close to being an 'us'.

I crawled back into bed even though I had been awake for a couple of hours. My body felt really worn down, and I didn't have anything to do today. I bundled up in my blankets and stared at the ceiling. Maybe I should talk to her about everything. I don't have a lot of friends, but I know that normal friends don't kiss each other on the neck. I just want to talk to someone about her because she is so interesting and confusing, and I don't know how to process her.

xSx

She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up. I could feel the ghost of her lips linger on my neck still. I had tossed around in my sheets all night long. I hardly got any sleep. I didn't want to lose sleep over her. I shouldn't lose sleep over her. But as soon as thoughts of her enter my mind they branch off and build up, and soon she completely takes over my thoughts. I should have hugged her goodnight and promised we would would talk later, but I didn't. I watched her leave.

_I liked it_. Her words kept repeating over and over in my mind. The way her eyes had started to gloss over. She was attracted to me. Did that mean that she liked me? Like _like _me? I have never felt so bad about shutting someone out before. I have left guys hanging before, but I don't want to leave Brittany hanging. I don't want things to get awkward with her because she is different. She isn't a guy. She is a beautiful girl with a big heart and blue eyes.

I wanted to kiss her neck and cheek and lips, and that scared me. I felt my stomach flip at the idea of kissing her. Right now I just wanted to apologize. I rolled my eyes at myself because apologies never left my mouth. I slid out of bed and got ready for the day. Brittany being upset with me overshadowed my owns fears. Sunday morning. She told me something about Sunday mornings, what was it?

_My mom and I used to feed the ducks every Sunday when my dad went to church._

I ran into the kitchen and pulled out a loaf of bread. I put two pieces into a smaller Ziploc bag and grabbed my jacket. The sun was really bright and the streets were really busy when I stepped outside. The air felt cold against my hands. I turned right instead of left and walked to the small coffee shop.

The bell started to jingle as I stepped through the door. I ordered the same thing as last time. A peppermint mocha and a dark-roast blend.

"Do you always drink two coffees?" I handed him over a ten dollar bill. I was actually surprised he remembered my order, he dealt with some many people.

"You keeping tabs on me?" I smirked to let him know I was joking.

"These are just, like, the polar opposite of each other." He held up both cups. Sweet and dark. Just like me and her.

"Yeah, the peppermint one is not for me." I put the change in the jar and he smiled at me.

"Oh, cute coffee date?" I wasn't one to make small talk, but this guy was just being friendly and made me really good coffee.

"Uhh, I'm not really sure yet. Sort of like an apology coffee." He just gave me a little frown. I took both coffees and held the bag of bread next to Brittany's cup.

"I hope everything works out for you." I sent him a little smile and started walking back towards Brittany's apartment. I walked as fast as I could so the coffee would still be hot when I got there.

I knocked on her door. No response. I knocked again. I jiggled her doorknob and her door opened. That was not safe at all. She should definitely lock her door.

"Brittany?" I stood in the doorway.

"Britt, you home?" I heard a door click open and then I saw Brittany walk out of her room all bundled up in blankets. I wanted to smile because she looked so cute, but then I remembered why I was here.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was a little lower than normal, and a little scratchy.

"I just ...I wanted to talk to you. Sorry for waking you up." Maybe this wasn't the best idea. She just gave me a blank look.

"I've been up since four. I couldn't really fall asleep last night. I just fell back asleep like an hour ago." She blinked slowly. I felt bad.

"Oh, I'm, sorry. I'll just go and uh, let you go back to bed." Her eyes flickered to my hands. Two cups of coffee and bread. I looked ridiculous.

"Is that for me?" I nodded.

"Why do you have bread?"

"You...you told me that you used to feed the ducks with your mom...and I know that you are really far from home and probably miss her and stuff...so I thought we could go...you know...to the park or something." Her eyes were really glossy. Tears welled up when I spoke, and when I finished speaking, they spilled over. She wasn't making any noise; the tears were just slowly falling down her cheeks.

I shut the door and slowly walked over to her. I put the coffee and bread down on a table and stood in front of her. Seeing Brittany should be illegal. I didn't know where we stood or why she was crying right now, but I don't think she is crying over me. I didn't even think about my movements. I placed my palm on her cheek and wiped the tears away with my thumb. She shut her eyes and more tears came. She leaned her head into my hold.

When she opened her eyes they looked really red. She looked so tired and sad. I wouldn't talk until she did. I had no clue what to say to her. I just wanted her to stop crying.

"Sor-sorry." Her voice broke.

"Don't apologize for crying." I spoke softly but with conviction. I kept her gaze. I wouldn't look away, not when she was so upset. She opened her arms and wrapped my up with her in the blanket.

"Can we just stay here?" Her voice was shaky. I whispered out 'yeah'.

She started to pull me into her and walk forward. I let her guide me without question. When we stopped moving I realized we were at the couch. She unwrapped her arms from around me and lounged on the couch. I pulled off my jacket and was left in a long-sleeve shirt. She tugged on my hand and I sat next to her. My body was resting on the arm of the couch.

As soon as I got comfortable she leaned into me and rested her head on my shoulder. She covered me with blankets. I turned my body and extended my legs onto the couch next to her. Her head shifted from my shoulder to my chest. I started running my fingers through her hair, and felt her breathing change. Each exhalation was shaky and drawn out. She felt so heavy. Not overweight, just _heavy._

"My mom passed away when I was sixteen." I could feel her tears soak into my shirt. My heart broke at her words. "I went to the park this morning...and...I just rea-really miss her right now. I need to ta-talk to her, bu-but I can't." Her words were choppy.

I put my right arm around her back and pulled her closer. I kept running my fingers through her hair. "You can talk to me." She lifted her head up and wiped the tears from her eyes. It was no use, they just kept coming. "I could listen to you talk all day." The words just sort of slipped through my lips without a second thought. It was true, I just hadn't meant to say it out loud. She was quiet for a little while.

"I can't talk to you...about _you._" She sounded so defeated. _I can't talk to you about you_. My hands slowed their movements. She was just as confused about last night as I was. We were both confused, except I had all of my friends from home to talk to, she didn't know anyone. My body was always one step ahead of my brain when it came to Brittany. Before I even knew what I was doing, I had shifted down and wrapped both arms around her. She rolled onto me slightly and all of our limbs were covered with the blanket. My lips were level with her forehead.

We just sort of fit together. I felt her hand slide slowly up my body and rest on my chest. Her fingers lined my collarbone and her palm rested over my breast. She wasn't being suggestive with her movements, but I could still feel my heartbeat pick up. I started drawing little circles on her back.

"I'm...you didn't do anything wrong last night." I felt her whole body shift slightly. She looked up at me with watery eyes. "Last night. You didn't do anything wrong..."

Brittany wiped the remaining tears and laid her head back down on my chest. I felt her jaw move against my skin as she spoke.

"Your kisses felt really good." It was so simple. Her voice didn't waiver and her bubbly undertones were starting to return. I couldn't fight the smile, or the blush, that spread across my face like wildfire. I think she heard how thickly I swallowed because she looked up at me again. I licked my lips and her eyes followed my tongue.

I stared at her as she stared at my lips. She wasn't even trying to be subtle as her gaze slid around my mouth. I pulled my tongue back in slowly. My stomach coiled with anticipation. I pulled part of my bottom lip in between my teeth and bit down gently. I felt her fingertips press into my collarbone. The weight of her body on mine and they way her nails imprinted into my skin, made my heart pound into my chest wall. I cleared my throat quietly to get her attention. Her eyes traveled up my face and locked on my own. I could feel her breath coat my chin and neck.

A bright pink blush danced across her face. She knew that I knew that she was staring at my lps. She sent me a sheepish smile and mumbled out an embarrassed 'sorry'. I giggled quietly and smiled at her. I didn't want her to lie here all day and be sad. Brittany was sweet and funny and interesting. I wanted to cheer her up, so I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Do you want to go to the pet store with me?" Her eyebrows bunched up in confusion, I'm pretty sure mine did too. I wasn't really sure where I was going with this.

"...I need a...fish?" Good lord. Real smooth. She grinned up at me and her eyes started to get their sparkle back. Well, I guess it would be nice to have a little dude chilling on my table in a bowl full of water.

"Let me go get ready!" She was excited. I could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. She brushed away any remaining tears and started to get off of my but stopped abruptly.

"Awh man, I ruined your shirt." I tucked my chin into my chest and picked up the flimsy, cotton material. There was a visible wet patch on my shirt with a few black streaks from her mascara. I didn't even know she was wearing any.

"That's okay. It's not ruined. I can just add it to my painting shirt collection."

"Your painting shirt collection?" Well, she would've found out eventually I suppose.

"Yeah...Painting is another one of my favorite hobbies." I gave a little shrug.

"Next to singing." I smiled at her and quietly agreed.

"Yeah, next to singing." She tilted her head to the side a little and looked at me for a couple of seconds. I was about to ask her if I had something on my face but she started talking again.

"I bet you're really good at painting, too."

"You've never even seen my paintings, or heard me sing!" She giggled and shook her head.

"Nope. I don't need to see one or hear you."

"You're just being nice. What if I'm really bad?"

"Well, can you sing to me while you show me one?" My smile faltered a little at the idea of showing her my art. What if she didn't think it was good.

"Maybe later, okay?" She just nodded and hopped off of me and off the couch, taking the blankets with her.

She stuck her hand out and pulled me up. I walked over and picked my my coffee. It was still hot. Good. She told me she was going to go get ready and walked down her hallway. Well, it was more of a glide. I heard an array of different noises. The splash of tap water rushing into the sink. The click of doors opening and closing. The rustling of clothes and the squeak of her shoes as she slid them on.

She had on a similar outfit as mine, except her long-sleeved shirt had a picture of the fish from 's _One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish _on it. Of course she would own that. It was so...Brittany.

"Thought it was fitting." She pointed to her shirt and smiled. She picked up the coffee I bought for her but threw away the bread. I didn't question her. She put on a bright green jacket and handed me mine as we made our way out the door.

The walk to the petstore wasn't that far. On the walk there, we talked about little things like our favorite flavor of ice cream, our favorite movies, our least favorite word, and if penguins were secretly sad that they couldn't fly. Rainbow sherbert. Matilda. Soggy. Britt sort of went off on the penguin topic. Apparently they are sad because they are technically a member of the bird family, but they make up for their inability to fly with their awesome belly-sliding skills. I smiled every time she answered and lost it on the penguin question. Who thinks of stuff like that? It is adorable. I tucked all of her answers safely in the back of my mind.

I downed the rest of my coffee and tossed the cup into a nearby trash can.

"What was that?" She motioned towards the trash.

"A dark-roast, black coffee." She scrunched her nose up.

"You need to taste the awesomeness that is a peppermint mocha" She handed her cup out to me and my fingers brushed over hers as I tilted the cup to my lips. Sweet, minty chocolate all melted together.

I gave her back the cup and licked my top lip to gather the lingering liquid. "Mmm. Yum." I walked into the shop and she caught up after a second.

xBx

My shoulder brushed Santana's as we leaned forwards. Our faces were barely an inch away from the glass.

"Okay, where are, like, the cute little blue and red ones with cool fins? These just look like they'd perv on me all day." I giggled as she sent the fish a disgusted look. They were the goldfish with the really big bulging eyes.

"Betta fish are over there in separate containers because they'll battle each other if they are in the same tank." I pointed over my shoulder with my thumb. We walked over to the shelf that had all of the Bettas. I carefully picked up each container and studied each fish. At first Santana just watched me, but when I asked her what color she wanted she started to pick up various containers.

"Battle each other? Total badasses."

"This one is a really pretty and it is your favorite color." I watched her as she examined it. I saw a little smile start to form on her lips.

"It is, can we keep looking though? I want one with a little more charisma. He just looks pissed and doesn't move." I giggled because she was being so thorough with her selection. The only fish I ever had was a goldfish named , turns out I'm not the best fish owner.

"Oh, Britt! What about this little guy?" I watched as she pulled a cup from the very back row. She held him up in the light. "He is a really pretty red, but he has a messed up fin." She frowned a little because of the fish's weird fin. "I kinda like him." She was so adorable.

"Just like Nemo!" She smiled but gave me a confused look.

"Who?" My jaw dropped slightly. I repeated myself.

"Nemo...from Finding Nemo" Her eyebrows scrunched together. "The Disney movie?...Have you never seen Finding Nemo?" She just shook her head slowly.

"Uhh...no?" I know that my face probably looked super confused. Who in the world has never seen Finding Nemo? It's such a classic.

"You really need to watch it. I have a copy you can borrow." Her face turned from confused to serious, and she started nodding addamently. She was making fun of me. I could tell because she had a smirk playing at her lips and a glint in her eyes. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, shut up. Disney movies are the best. You're just not cool enough to realize it." She faked offense and brought her hand to her chest. She was being fun and playing along.

"You don't think I'm cool?" She sent me a little pout and I started to giggle. Even though we were both joking around, her pout totally worked on me.

"Awh,San, don't worry. I'm pretty much the coolest person alive, so just being around me makes you cooler." I grinned at her.

"Huh. Never pegged you as the cocky type, _Pierce_." She smirked at me. She was really good at knowing what to say to regain control of a conversation, but I still responded with just as much attitude as she had.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me, _Lopez._" I think she was a little surprised that I had responded, because her eyes widened a little, along with her smile. "Come on, lets get the rest of your fish stuff so we can go watch Finding Nemo." I turned to walk down the aisle with the live plants.

"We?" She questioned.

"Huh?"

"You said that 'we' were going to watch the movie. Thought you were letting me borrow it?" She was still messing around, but I felt my face heat up at my little word slip up. All of the attitude and confidence I had sort of died away.

"Oh, yeah, you can just borrow it." I think she felt bad for messing around with me, because when she started talking her voice was softer.

"I was kidding. I want to watch it with you." I smiled at her. As soon as she returned my smile, she picked out a plant,food,that water cleaning stuff, and three bags of marbles, and headed to the checkout. I stood beside her as she paid, and did my best to ignore the cashier that was blatantly checking her out. Gross. I think I made a face because she looked over at me and giggled.

As soon as we started walking to our apartments she let out a noise like she was faking sickness.

"Pretty sure that guy was about to blow his load all over my fish." I scrunched my nose up at her words and shook my head. Nasty.

"He was gross. People shouldn't look at you like you're a piece of meat." I felt a frown form on my face just thinking about people being degrading towards Santana. She didn't respond, she just looked at the sidewalk and kept walking forward. I saw her lips form into a little smile. A private smile.

"What are you going to name him?" She quirked an eyebrow up in confusion.

"Can't I just call him Fish?" Was she being serious?

"Fish? You are going to name your fish 'Fish'?" I giggled at her confused pout.

"It's not like he actually understands anything. Let alone a name."

"Just because he doesn't understand _anything _doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a name." Her pout turned into a little frown and she nodded.

"Yeah...yeah, you're right." I'm never right. "So, what should I name him then?"

"He's your fish. You can name him anything you want...just not fish, of course." I leaned over and playfully bumped my shoulder into hers.

"Of course." She smiled over at me and nudged back. We didn't say anything else until we got back to her apartment. She turned left and started walking up her front steps. I stood at the bottom unsure if it was okay if I followed.

She turned her head slightly to her right where I had been standing before about to speak, then jerked her head down to where I was standing.

"What are you doing? Come on." She didn't sound annoyed, just a little confused. She flashed me a little smile and I bolted up the stairs next to her.

"Here, can you hold this?" She handed me the fish and bag with all the other stuff, and pulled her keys out. She jiggled her key and the lock click open.

"Oh,and you should start locking your door, Britt. I don't want anything happening to you." She quietly mumbled out the last part but I caught it. I nodded and we walked into her place. She took off her jacket and I placed everything on the counter in her kitchen. She left and came back with a fishbowl, well, it was more of a cylindrical vase. It would work. She shrugged and filled up the vase with water.

"Can you put that cleaning stuff in while I open these marbles?" I nodded and read the directions. Eight drops for every gallon.

"San? Is this a gallon?"

"Uhh, close enough, yeah." I put nine drops in just to be safe and she started pouring the marbles in. They were different shades of golds and purples. She took the plant out of the little baggie and rolled her sleeves up. She gently started anchoring the plant with the marbles and I noticed the material of her shirt slide down her left arm. I reached out with one hand to hold her forearm steady, and then used my other hand to tug the material back up for her. It felt so good to touch her skin again. And I was just touching her forearm. I wanted to run my fingers higher over her shirt and graze the back of her neck, where little wisps of raven hair fell in every different direction. I felt my cheeks flush lightly at that thought.

She stopped shuffling the marbles around when I touched her arm. I didn't dare look up at her face, so I kept my eyes locked on her smooth caramel skin. I felt her muscles tighten and heard the marbles start rolling around again. I scratched my nails up the front of her forearm and then pulled my hands away. I could feel her eyes on me. I grabbed the little container that held the fish and opened the lid.

"Hey, little nameless guy, you are about to have the coolest new home." When in doubt, be dorky. I lifted my hand up like I was telling the fish a secret but spoke loud enough for Santana to hear. "A beautiful owner, too."I chanced a glance at Santana, and was glad I did. Her head was tilted to the side a little bit, her hands were still submerged in the water, and she had a shy smile gracing her lips. I could visibly see a dark blush pool in the cheeks. "Let's just hope she remembers to feed you." She cracked a full on grin and I couldn't help but return it. She was good at gaining control of a conversation, but I was good at diffusing tension with a random joke. Which is a good thing, because there was always a tension between us, especially after any sort of physical contact.

"Don't listen to her, . She's crazy." She playfully rolled her eyes.

" ?" I could feel my smile widen. She looked at the counter briefly, then back at me. Her nod was barely noticeable. "Da-na-na-nu-nu-nah-nah" She caught on and cracked a grin. I would be completely content if she let me stare at her smile all day, but that'd be weird.

"Alright, lets get you in your new home." I pushed the container over to Santana and she just looked at it.

"San, put him in the tank." I giggled out. Her smile was replaced with a nervous, grossed-out, look.

"Are you scared to touch your fish?" She snapped her head up to me. She almost looked...offended?

"No."

"Alright, well, put him in the tank then." She slowly slid her fingers into the plastic container. I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep myself from cracking up. As soon as her finger grazed the fish he squirmed, and I couldn't keep in my laugh. She pulled her hand back so fast, and scoffed at my laughter. She looked like a five year old after someone stole their only black crayon. Adorable.

I walked over next to Santana and heard her huff out a breath of air.

"He won't hurt you. I promise." She looked a little embarrassed and crossed her arms over her chest. "They used to scare me too, but then I realized that they can't hurt are so much smaller than us."

She uncrossed her arms and placed them on the counter. Her left hand crawled over to the container and froze at the top. I cupped my fingers and placed them over hers. I felt her hand stiffen then relax. I threaded my fingers through hers and slide our hands into the water. The fish struggled against our fingers and I felt Santana try to pull away. I tightened my grasp around her fingers and scooped up the fish. I started pulling our hands to the fish vase. He wiggled his way out of our loose grip and into the water.

"See. Not too scary, right?" I was talking quietly because we were standing so pulled our intertwined hands back the counter and I started to untangle my digits from hers, but she squeezed harder, stopping my movements. She wanted to hold my hand. My heart started to pick up at the little gesture. I rethreaded my fingers with hers.

"Good job."

"You don't have to say that. I basically needed you to do it." She looked down at the counter, or maybe at our hands. I couldn't tell.

"Just because I helped doesn't mean you didn't do a good job. You faced a fear, no matter how small it may have been, that is still worth being proud over. So, good job." She slowly lifted her eyes and looked over at me. Her brow was slightly scrunched. I wasn't sure what she was thinking, and I was about to ask her, but her movement stopped me from doing so. She leaned into me and placed a feather-light kiss to my cheek. Her lips were smooth and hot against my already warm cheek. She lingered for a second and then pulled back slowly.

I couldn't help the lazy smile that spread across my lips. It almost didn't seem fitting, because my heartbeat was anything but lazy. She blinked slowly and then looked me directly in the eyes.

"You are the sweetest person I have ever met." She said it with such sincerity I thought I was about to cry. I didn't though. I just smiled at her. I wanted to kiss her so badly. I could lean in a couple of inches and capture her bottom lip in between mine, but I didn't. She wasn't ready, I could see it in her eyes. But right next to her uncertainty and fear, I saw an overwhelming amount of of something else. Want, maybe?. She knew I was ready, she knew how much I wanted to kiss her. It was obvious.

I tugged our hands off of the counter and grabbed my jacket. I picked her keys up off of the table and handed her her coat. I opened her front door and locked it behind us. I walked out of her building straight into my apartment. She didn't say a single word and neither did I. We both took off our jackets.I led her to the couch and she sat down. I let go of her hand and walked over to my DVD collection. I put _Finding Nemo_in the player and got a blanket from my room. I pressed 'play' and sat down in between her and the arm of the couch. The whole time I moved around and got everything situated, she just sat there quietly. Her eyes flickered from the floor to the TV to the table and then back to her hands.

"Okay, let's start working on making you cool." She playfully rolled her eyes but didn't move her body. I tucked my legs up so my knees were pressing into her thigh. She didn't move away but I could feel her clench her muscles. Maybe too much was happening too fast. Hand holding and a kiss on the cheek, all in one day? I inched my legs back to put a little bit of space between us.

I watched Santana's fingers gently tug at the blanket that was covering a majority of my body. I left half of the material out for her to bundle up with if she wanted to.

Her eyes were switching between the screen and her hands. I could see her head move as she continued to switch focal points from my peripherals. I kept my face turned towards the television and wrapped the blanket a little bit tighter around my upper body.

I shifted my gaze over to Santana and she snapped her head back to the screen. She was acting a little strange. She still hadn't covered with the blanket, but I could see her shiver slightly. Maybe she didn't want to share. I tossed the blanket off of myself and hopped off the couch. She sent me a questioning look.

"One second." I walked into my room and spotted the object of desire lying on the edge of my bed. I walked back over to the couch and offered Santana my black hoodie. The one she wore when she was helping me with Spanish. Oh, crap. I have that test tomorrow.

"You were shivering, and I thought that you maybe didn't want to share the blanket. So, here." I sent her a little smile. She took the hoodie and stuck her arms through each hole. I returned to my position on the couch and made sure I didn't graze her thigh with my knees this time.

"This part is so sad." I was sort of saying it to myself, because she didn't seem too keen on starting a conversation. Santana tucked her legs so our knees where an inch apart and pulled the hood around her neck tightly. I watched her nuzzle the fabric with her nose and shut her eyes. She stayed like that for like ten minutes. Slowly breathing in and out, keeping her eyes closed. All of my attention was on her, and I was about to tell her that we didn't have to watch this if she didn't want to, but I shut my mouth when she opened her eyes.

She caught my stare, so I slide my eyes back to the screen.

"Why haven't you ever slept with anyone?" Her voice was small but her question made me snap my head in her direction. I could feel my cheeks warm with embarrassment. "I'm sorry-you don't have to answer that. I can't believe I just said that." Her voice was a little louder and her words moved quickly through my ears.

I didn't say anything, I just looked at her.

"Brittany, I'm really sorry. I don't know why I asked you that. I can't even-I'm sorry." I wonder what facial expression I was giving her right now. I felt embarrassed, shocked, slightly offended, confused, but also extremely intrigued. Is that what she had been thinking about this whole time? Me having sex.

I lifted my hand up and scratched the side of my nose. It wasn't even itchy.

"Santana..." I shut my eyes and breathed in deeply. " I don't...I just..." I opened my eyes. I had never really been at a loss for words, but I definitely was right now. I didn't even know how to answer her question. "I don't know how to answer that." The sounds from the movie filled the awkward silence between us. I dropped my gaze from her completely.

"Brittany, you don't have to answer me. I don't deserve to know. That is so personal, and you are so sweet and my filter..." She was rambling." I can leave?" I didn't want her to leave. I just didn't want to talk about sex with her. She had more sex appeal in her pinky finger than I did in my entire body.

"Stay." Four letters put an end to that conversation. I lifted my head and was surprised to see such a scared look grace her features. "Let's just not talk about...it" She nodded quickly. I turned my attention back to the screen and so did she. I don't think either of us were thinking about the movie right now, though.

After a couple of minutes passed, the tension in my shoulders relaxed and I sank back into the couch. Santana was sitting as straight as a board and barely blinking. How are her eyes not dry?

"Santana?" She jumped a little at the sound of my voice and looked over at me with a nervous expression. "I'm not mad." She still looked a little apprehensive. "I promise I'm not mad. Don't feel bad." She opened her mouth the speak, but I could already see her lips forming the word 'sorry'. "You don't have to apologize again." I let a little smile break through my lips and she looked exponentially more relieved. "Come on, watch the movie and relax."

She shifted herself around on the couch and shuffled a little bit closer to me. she grabbed the edge on the blanket and placed it over her lap.

"I get cold easily." She sheepishly shrugged.

"Well, you are pretty tiny, so I can see why."

"I'm still a badass though, right?" I giggled and she scrunched her nose up.

"Whatever you say." Her question still lingered in my mind, but I liked how it wasn't awkward anymore.

"I say that I'm a badass. Plus, you keep your place at a cuddle temperature all of the time, so it's not really my fault."

"Is that your way of asking to cuddle with me?" Her eyes ballooned. "Because I would totally let you." I was pushing it, but she owed me after that question. She shifted closer to me so her knees were touching the tops of my thighs. I lifted my arm and she laid her head above my breasts.

"I need to move my legs." She lifted off of me for a second and I extended my legs out in front of her. Trapping her between the back of the couch and my body. She rested her head back down and let out a content sigh.

"You're comfy"

"So are you." I dropped my hand to her back and started scratching up and down slowly. Every time I inhaled, my senses were overwhelmed by her scent. Thirty minutes passed and I felt her pull her hand under her chin. Her head became heavier and her breathing changed. Little delicate streams of her breath twirled around my chest. Her hand that had been under her chin relaxed and fell between the valley of my breasts. I felt my breath hitch.

Santana falling asleep on me was by far my favorite thing that has happened since I moved here. Well, other than meeting her. I kept moving my hand up and down her back, and wrapped my other arm over the front of my body and rested my hand on my stomach. I shut my eyes and breathed her in. I tilted my cheek into her hair. I wasn't even tired, but the mixture of having her on top of me sleeping and her warmth, made a comfortable drowsiness cloud my body.

xSx

Something kept touching my back. . . I could hear faint music playing in the background. My whole body felt so warm and comfortable. I slid my face higher to nuzzle into the warmth.

Mmm. Coconut.

All of my pre-sleep thoughts rushed back to me. I was at Brittany's, we were watching that fish movie, and now we are cuddling? I flung my eyes open and and was met with the sight of smooth skin stretched over her collarbone. I started to move my hand up to rub my eyes, but stopped when it started climbing a small hill. I glanced down at my hand as it rested directly on her breast._Oh god. _

I felt her body tense at my hesitation, and quickly tucked my hand under my chin.

I pushed the upper half of my body higher to look at her face.

"Hey there, sleepy head" She sent me a little smile. "Awh, you have little indentation marks on your cheek." She giggled when I started searching my normally smooth skin with the tips of my fingers. I could feel the little grooves along the side of my face. I was torn between giggling and ducking my head with embarrassment, but the sound of my cell phone distracted both of us.  
_Well, sometimes I go out by myself_  
_And I look across the water_

I fiddled with my back pocket trying to free my phone.

_And I think of all the thin- _

I quickly checked the caller ID. Sam.

"What do you want, Trouty Mouth?" Brittany's eyebrows rose at the way I answered the phone. I covered the mouthpiece and whispered out 'Sam'. She lifted my hand of cover her mouth and stifle her giggle.

"His lips _are _huge" She whispered out and I felt my smile widen. Wait, what did he just say.

"Wait, what did you just say?" I heard him huff out a breath and repeat himself.

"I asked you where you are. I am at your door." Oh.

"Oh...I'm, uhm...out."

"Out? Okay, out where?"

"I'm at..." I paused and took in Brittany's expression. She sent me a shy, almost sad lopsided smile. "I'm with Brittany."

"Brittany? Hot dancer Brittany?" Judging by the look on Brittany's face, she could hear him on the other side of the line. Her eyebrows were raised and she had an amused and slightly embarrassed smile playing at her lips.

"Yeah...hot dancer Brittany." I looked down to avoid her blushing cheeks and bright blue eyes. It didn't really help, because I just stared at her chest. She inhaled a deep breath of air, causing the fabric covering her chest to stretch, making her breasts even more distracting.

"I didn't know you guys were friends...she's so much..nicer than you." I rolled my eyes and met Brittany's. I was about to respond, but Brittany whispered speaker phone. I switched it over and held it above her chest.

"Thanks a lot. I can feel your love for me through the phone when you say stuff like that."

"Oh, please. Stop being such a softy, you know you're my favorite." I felt a small smile spread across my face.

"Damn right. I'm everyone's favorite." Brittany rolled her eyes playfully at my response.

"What are you two doing?" What _are _we doing? I glanced down between our bodies and then back up to Brittany. She must have been thinking the same thing and noticed my lack of an answer, so she spoke up.

"Santana is helping me study for my Spanish test." I had totally forgotten about her test. Was she still nervous? Did she need more help? I was thankful for her response. I was too busy realizing that I was still cuddled up next to her. She hadn't told me to get off yet, but I started to feel like this was too much. I reluctantly pushed my body further off of her and sat up. I saw a small frown form on the her lips, but she didn't let it stay there very long.

"Santana is helping you study? Is she high?" I saw the confusion take over Brittany's features. She pulled herself up into a sitting position. She looked over at me with a curious expression.

"No. I don't think you high?"

"No, I'm not high right now, Sam."

"Sorry, geez. You just don't usually help anyone unless you are...under the influence." Brittany's face hadn't changed. She still looked curious.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, how about I meet you at the bar later tonight? I'm busy right now."

"Alright, I'll see you later." Sam ended the call first. I fiddled with the phone in my lap.

"You smoke?" She didn't look like she was judging me. Brittany didn't seem to judge anyone about anything. Ever.

"Yeah. Well, not all of the time. I'm not like... a pot head or anything." I didn't want her to think I was some lazy stoner with my apparitions.

"I don't care if you smoke, Santana. I've just never tried it before. Plus, I know all about the munchies and I can't start eating cheetos and ice cream all of the time and keep these abs." She playfully pulled up her shirt a little. _ Lord Almighty. I could clean my clothes on those._

The muscles in her abdomen started convulsing and clenching when she laughed.

"We could always just go to the laundromat." Her voice was light and bubbly, and I could hear her breath hitch with each new laugh. A heat flushed my face.

"I can't believe I just said that out loud."

"Consider us even."

"Huh?"

"We're even. The first day we met, I said that stuff at the studio without realizing it, I guess. And you obviously didn't mean to tell me that...so, we are even."

"Deal. Do you need some more help with Spanish?"

"I only have a few words left. I made up little sayings for the rest of them already, but I wouldn't mind your help."

"No problemo, Mamacita." She just sent my a little smile and hopped off the couch. She grabbed her messenger bag and pulled out the paper we studied off of. I could see little phrases written in next to each term in a bright blue gel pen.

We were sitting in the same position as last time, except this time I was leaning into Brittany as I looked at the paper resting on her lap.

"Alright, let's see what Shuester mustered up in his gel-coated pea-sized brain." She let out a little giggle as I scanned the bottom of the list. "Okay. Agradable encontrarle just means 'nice to meet you'. Uhm, if you look at the second word, it sort of looks like the beginning to the word encounter? That's the best I can come up with." I shrugged my shoulders, but Brittany just underling the first six letters of encontrarle, and wrote encounter directly below it.

"Good?" She looked over at me and smiled. "Okay. Buena suerte means good luck. What the hell? This is just a list of random shit that doesn't even go together. He really should create a more cohesive collection of terms. No wonder people get so confused." I rolled my eyes and Brittany just looked over at me and tilted her head.

"I don't think it matters if the words go together. I still wouldn't get it." A little frown seemed so out of place on her lips.

"It just takes time, Britt. Anyone can learn a new language."

"Yeah, well easy for you to say, you're super smart. I'm...not." Hearing Brittany talk down on herself was another thing that should be illegal. Right next to her crying.

"Hey. Stop it. You are just as smart as me. I grew up in a Spanish speaking house and you didn't, that's the only reason I know how to speak it. Don't call yourself stupid." She just shrugged her shoulders in response and wrote 'good luck' down on the paper.

"I am, though."

I stared at her profile and noticed her eyes narrow slightly.

"Well, I think you are brilliant. And I know for a fact that by the end of this semester, you will be able to speak Spanish better than Shuester himself. I mean, come on, you have like, the best tutor a person could ask for." The skin around her eyes crinkled for her smile. She tilted her head to the side and looked up at me.

"She is pretty great." My whole body warmed a couple of degrees. Good god, Brittany and her stares.

"You speak the truth. Now, let's finish up. I want you to ace this thing." I leaned my shoulder into hers and we finished the rest of the list. Coming up with little tricks got harder the closer I sat to her. Breathing got a little harder, too.


	6. Chapter 6

**I just want to say thank you for every review! They are so sweet, and really make me want to write more. So, by all means, drop a review. I also want to fix a typo from last chapter. Santana's fish is named , I'm not sure why it cut out that line. **

**I hope you guys like this chapter! It was kinda sorta hard to write. Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Not one bit of it.**

xBx

Hot. I was so hot. I could feel my muscles straining from the amount of times I had redone my routine. After Santana said all of those nice things to me and helped me study she said she should go home and get some work done. I wasn't sure if the fact that I didn't want her to leave was a bad thing or not. She was so fun to be around, especially when she said cute stuff, and sat close, and cuddled. Especially the cuddling part.

I ended up at the studio about an hour after she left. My apartment seemed too boring as soon as she walked out my door.

I turned up David Grey's song and looked at my reflection in the mirrors. I had been at the studio for the past three hours, creating the final touches to my dance. I went through the whole routine and packed up my stuff. I unlocked my front door and peeled off my disgusting, sweat-drenched clothes. The warm water from the shower pelted the skin on my back as I ran the razor up each leg making sure not to leave a random strip of hair anywhere.

With my towel wrapped around my waist and my hair combed through, I picked out a comfy pair of sweats and a sports bra and hoodie. I had to wear my old cheerleading hoodie because Santana took the black one. Not that I mind.

A semi-loud vibration coming from my bedside table made me jump. I flopped down on my bed and unlocked the screen.

Wanna join me at the bar?- San

I looked at the time. 8:21. My eyelids already felt heavy.

'I went to the studio after you left and can barely feel my thighs. Another time?' I really didn't feel like moving from this bed right now, but I knew that I would fall asleep if I didn't. I pushed myself off of the mattress and walked into the bathroom, phone in hand. I grabbed my toothbrush and layered the bristles with a thin line of toothpaste. Little circles. The foam started to collect in my mouth and right when I leaned over to spit it out, my phone vibrated.

I held the toothbrush between my teeth and blew my cheeks out like a chipmunk so I wouldn't make a mess. I felt my mouth open despite my efforts to keep it closed. I spit the toothpaste out, rinsed my toothbrush off, and gargled the remaining foam from my mouth. I shut off the lights and hopped back into my bed.

I opened the most recent text Santana sent. It was a picture of her pouting at the screen with no words underneath. I could see the blur of lights and random people in the background. I could see the part of her arm she took the picture with. She was still wearing my hoodie, but she had changed her shirt into a dark blue, low cut v-neck.

'Take your big, brown, puppy dog eyes and cute little pout someplace else. I'm going to bed :)

I cuddled under my sheets and waited for her response. I was holding my phone in front of my face with my arms extended. I twirled it between my fingers, occasionally having to dodge it when it slipped from my grasp.

You're heartless, Brittany Pierce. The pout always works!- San

I could feel my cheeks start to cramp from smiling so big.

'It was a nice attempt. I've been told that I'm the queen of pouts, though, so...'

I could feel my eyelids start to close, but I fought off the drowsiness.

Oh, wise one, teach me the ways of ye' old pout.-San

I rolled over on my side and pulled my knees up to my chest.

'You sound like a dorky garden gnome.'

Geez, first you turn down hanging out with me, and now you're making fun. And to think that I thought you were sweet...-San

I could feel a small fluttering in my lower stomach.

'Sweet? Honey, I'm as sweet as apple pie. I am just being a responsible adult and going to bed at a decent hour. Unlike someone I know...'

While I waited for her reply, I set the picture she sent me as her contact image. Beautiful.

Touche. I probably won't stay out late now, anyways. I'll let you go to bed now, Gran.-San

'Goodnight, Santana. Be careful walking home. I'll see you tomorrow! :)'

Her response was almost instantaneous.

Night, Britt-Britt. Sweet dreams. :)-San

I did have sweet dreams. Very, very, very sweet dreams.

xSx

I was a little early for my psychology class and as I turned the corner, I was met with the face of a familiar blonde walking from the opposing end of the hallway. Her smile grew and she quickened her steps to meet me at the door.

"Hey." She breathed out. I just smiled and turned to walk into the class. To my rather unfortunate luck, the hobbit was already in her seat, pulling out a rainbow covered notebook and gold glitter pencil. We were the only three people in the classroom. Brittany matched my stride and as soon as we were a safe distance into the room, I heard the JewJew fish start blabbering away.

"Can I just say that your arrival times for this class are freakishly sporadic. If both of you followed a well orchestrated routine, you would automatic-" I held my hand up to cut her off.

"Alright, Yentel, listen here. I've done a fairly impressive job at taming the inner Bitch in me that is always dying to unleash on your scrawny ass and ridiculously large nose each time you attempt to start a conversation. I mean, I understand, I'm the hottest piece of ass at this school. Well, almost the hottest, but you're not really my type." Her eyebrows were raised in shock and confusion. I glanced down at her notebook.

"While I am a firm supporter and advocate for the LGBT community and fully respect a sapphic lifestyle, I am straight, so no need to worry." Once her mini-rant was over, I raised my eyebrow and picked up my stride again. Brittany sat next to me with an amused look on her face. She leaned closer to me and whispered into my ear.

"I think Sam was right about you, little miss "I'm not egotistical"." She leaned away as I slowly turned towards her.

"Hey, now, it's not my fault I'm so hot." I smirked at her and she just giggled and shook her head.

"Are you still nervous about Spanish?" She scrunched up her nose a little and nodded.

"I mean, I feel way better than I did last week. I just hope I don't totally blank when I get to class. That always happens." She looks a little apprehensive.

"You'll do fine, Britt. You got them all right yesterday, right?" She nodded "Just pretend that you are sitting next to me studying, don't stress it. Plus, I'm pretty sure Schuester doesn't even know the right answers anyways, so, that should make you feel a little better." She just nodded again.

People started filling the seats surrounding us, and five minutes class started. We both took out our notebooks and started copying the notes down. A couple of minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head around slowly, so did Brittany. _Oh, god, seriously? Hobbit and Bigfoot both in one day?_

"Uh? Can I help you?" I whispered out in a bitchy tone. I saw his eyes roam around my body.

"I was just wondering if I could borrow a pen?" A pen? The pickup line of a twelve year old, how fitting. I glanced over to my visible collection of pens and pencils and turned back to him.

"Looks like I'm out. Bummer."I smirked sarcastically and spun back around. I caught Brittany looking at me from the corner of my eye with a confused look on her face.

"What?" I whispered to her.

"Nothing...just..." She paused for a second. Taking in a deep breath, and she whispering out "I'm just trying to figure out why you don't treat me like everyone else." I opened my mouth to respond, but decided to shut it. I didn't have a response for that question yet.

The rest of the class was boring. Brittany didn't say anything else and I didn't dare to look over at her. I would just end up staring. We walked out the door of the classroom and instead of going our separate ways, I walked next to her towards Spanish.

Brittany was tapping her fingertips against the books she carried in her arms.

"You'll do great." We stopped at the entrance to her next class. "Let me know how you do, okay? I want to see if teaching should become a possible major instead of law." I smiled at her and reached my arms up and around her neck. I spoke quietly into the shell of her ear. "Good luck, Britt."

I didn't let this hug turn into one of our...private hugs.

"Thanks, San." She sent me a nervous little smile. She turned to walk into her class but I reached out and grabbed her bicep. I took in a deep, shaky breath.

"What is it?" I looked at the floor as I spoke.

"I, uhm. Nothing, nothing." I stuttered out lamely.

She tilted her head and studied my face quickly before walking into her class.

I spun on my heel and headed off in the opposite direction. I wasn't really sure where I was going, but I felt like I needed to be someplace other than here. I turned down the first hallway and walked into a quiet, empty corridor and slid down the wall until I was sitting. _I hope she does well. She will do well. She will be so bummed if she doesn't. I'll be so bummed if she doesn't. Did I teach her everything correctly? She'll kick ass._

I pulled out my laptop and started working on some work for my Western civilization class. I slipped some headphones in and shut out the world while I tackled the trivial course work. My thoughts were distracted when I felt someone tap my calf.

I slowly move my eyes up the leg that touched me. Dark skinny jeans clinging to thin, toned legs. Legs I know. My eyes pause briefly at the apex of her thighs then continue to take in the rest of her. Her eyes are shining and she has a grin firmly planted on her lips. A smile is a good sign, right?

Her lips are moving but I can't hear over my music. I shut my laptop and stick everything back in my bag so I can stand up. I pull my headphones out of my ears and toss them in my bag.

"Hey. What are you doing out so early?" Brittany's eyes scan my face before she starts speaking. Her feet twist on the flooring.

"I uh...was the first one to finish." Her lips are pulled to one side of her mouth. "He graded it on the spot...and" I feel my stomach twist a little in anticipation.

"And?" She cracks into a full grin.

"And...I got a 93!" She throws her arms around me before I have time to brace myself and we both stumble back a little. She doesn't let go though. She just squeezes me a little tighter. She pulls back so we are face to face but keeps her arms around my neck.

"A 93?" I can feel my own smile splitting across my face. "Brittany, that is amazing. I knew you'd kick ass." Her smile turns into that little private one and she tilts her head slightly.

"You did?" I just nod.

"I never doubted it" My words come out as a whisper and her cheeks turn a light pink. I can feel her fingers gently scratch at the back of my neck, and can't stop the way my body silently shudders. She leans her head into the crook of my neck and my eyes instantly take in our surroundings. The corridor is empty except the two of us. I'm not sure if guilt or relief washes over me. Maybe both.

"I'm so happy that I met you." Her breath washes over the side of my neck and across my collarbone. My heart is slamming against my chest, and I'm pretty sure she can feel it. My arms slide a little lower until they are resting around her lower back.

"Me, too." She moves quickly but with grace and plants a light kiss on the apple of my cheek as she unwraps her arms from around me. I don't even have time to process what just happened before she is talking.

"I can't believe that I was the first one done. That only happened once when I was in third grade and I didn't know any of the answers to my multiplication test. Plus, I had recess after math, so I just gave my teacher my blank test and walked out onto the playground." I can feel the corners of my lips turn up as she rambles. "I had to sit with my principal during recess time for the next two weeks. I didn't mind though, he had really comfortable squishy chairs in his office." She is talking through a smile and casually tugging at the straps of her book bag. "When my two weeks were up I asked him if I could just keep sitting with him. He looked at me with a really confused face and then handed me a candy off his desk and told me that I was his favorite student." She looks at me and scrunches her nose up a little.

I let out a little giggle and sling my bag over my shoulder.

"Brittany Pierce, you may just be the most refreshing person I know." I lift my left hand up to her face and lightly poke the end of her nose. She cracks me a grin and goes cross-eyed as she follows my finger.

"You're a dork."

"Well then you are a dork by association."

I drop my hand and nod. "I guess I am." She smiled at me and I smiled back. It was the easiest thing to do-smile at her.

xBx

The tip of my sambas twisted of the floor and my pencil tapped the edge of the table when walked over to hand me my test. I made sure to write my name first so I wouldn't forget. The test was just a list of the terms with a blank line next to them. I looked at the first word and instantly pictured the shape of Santana's lips when she told me what it meant.

Good luck. Next. Good Morning. Next. Nice to meet you. Next. Have a nice night.

My hands wrote down each answer so quickly I started to doubt whether they would be right. Of course they would. Santana taught me and she is so, so, so smart. I looked around the room and everyone's heads were still focused on their papers. I placed my pencil in my bag and tossed it over my shoulder. looked so surprised when I told him I was finished. He took out a red pen and only made 3 little marks on it and then wrote a big 93 on the top.

I walked out of the classroom and as soon as I turned the corner I saw her. She was sitting propped up against the all with her laptop resting on her lap. I leaned my shoulder against I the wall and just looked at her. In her own little world. Her brow would furrow and then relax each time she started typing. I bet she was a really fast typer and never made any spelling mistakes. Sometimes I spell words so incorrectly that Microsoft and Google don't even have any spelling suggestions.

I bounce off the wall and tap her on the leg. She smiled so big when I told her I got a 93. She didn't even seem surprised, and that was my favorite part about her reaction. I was going to kiss her neck instead of her cheek, but last time that happened she got freaked out. Her eyes were wide when I pulled away, and I didn't want her to feel awkward so I said the first thing that came to mind. She just smiled and poked the tip of my nose.

"You're a dork."

"Well, then you are a dork by association." She just nodded.

"I guess I am." She just smiled at me and I smiled at her. I think she noticed that we were just staring at each other, so she cleared her throat and started talking.

"I-I have class soon. I should probably get going." She was getting nervous again. I could tell. I don't know why she acts like this, its not like anyone is paying any attention to us. She stepped to the side to get around me and I felt my brow furrow.

We were facing in different directions when I spoke.

"Come over tonight." My words seemed too loud. I heard Santana stop walking and turned to her. She was giving me a confused look. "I mean-you don't have to...I just want to, like, maybe make you dinner as a thank you for helping me with Spanish...or something..." Her face didn't change and I felt my cheeks redden with every passing second. "No,that's stupid because I can't even cook and you probably have plans with other people or maybe li-"

"Okay."

"Okay? Really?" She rolled her eyes playfully. "Awesome. Well, how about you come over at 8:30."

"Sounds perfect." I couldn't help the way my body sprung forward on my toes, or the way both of my palms met in a quick clap. Santana shook her head at my excitement, but I could see her grin fighting to break through. She turned on her heel and started walking to her class, and I stood there and watched her walk away until I couldn't see her anymore.

I looked at my wrist, as if to check the time, but I wasn't even wearing a watch. I pulled out my phone and realized that in seven hours Santana would be in my kitchen and I have no clue what to make. _Do I even have groceries? Should I light candles? No. No candles. Maybe music? But not like slow music. Other music like Santana's ringtone._

The rest of my day dragged on and by the time I walked into the studio, I realized that Santana had been the only thing on my mind for the past seven hours.

My class started to filter in and once everyone was in the room, I started discussing the agenda.

"Alright guys, last week we worked on some small, fun dance moves, but now I want us to try partnering up. I know this is a hip hop class, but being able to dance in sync with another person will really help you guys understand how to keep your body in check. When you are dancing by yourself, you are free of any restraints, but I notice a lot of you seem to forget how much space you are actually talking up, and where your limbs are at all times. Alright, I need you all to line up from tallest to shortest for me."

They quickly lined up in front of me. There were thirteen girls and four boys, which makes an odd number.

"Okay, well since there are seventeen of you, one of you will have to dance with me as my partner. A lot of the time you see a male-female pair, but since you guys are new to dancing, dancing with someone closer to your size will be much easier for you. When I pair you up, I will number one of you 'one' and the other 'two', so you can follow my directions easier" I made my way down the line, pairing the people standing next to each other, and then pulling the tallest girl,Beca, forward with me.

"Brittany, do I really have to be with you?" I felt myself frown at her words. Do I smell bad? I was about to lift my arm, but her words stopped me.

"It's just, you are so amazing at dancing, and I don't want to like, let you down or something, because I literally think I may have two left feet." I glanced down at her shoes.

"Nope, you've got a right one too." She let out a little laugh. "Seriously, Beca, don't be nervous. We are all going to learn the same moves, and you actually have the upper hand because I will be guiding your body most of the time." I could see her relax with each word. "Everyone else is going to be lead by an equally skilled dancer, so it will be a lot harder on them." She nodded and smiled at me.

"Alright, I'm sorta a sucker for salsa dancing, so we are all going to learn some basic moves and posture. Everyone spread out and face your partner. Okay, person one needs to place their right hand in their partner's left one and hold it shoulder level, then place their left hand of number two's shoulder. Like this." I guided Beca's hands into mine and in a lower voice spoke to her.

"You are one, I'm two." She nodded

"Alright, person number two needs to place their right hand high of their partners side. Right next to their breast plate. Like this." I slide my fingers up Beca's side until they were in place. I felt her muscles flex under my touch.

"Sorry." I whispered out, she just smiled. Once everyone was in place we went through the first seven counts. I could hear Beca quietly counting out the steps as we moved.

"You can say them louder, it helps me too." She smiled bashfully but made her voice louder. Once I felt Beca become more comfortable with the steps, I broke away from her and walked around to each pair. I couldn't help but notice the guy's faces-not entirely comfortable to be dancing so closely with another male. The only one who didn't seem to mind was Sam. He just smiled through a concentrated brow. I liked that he didn't mind. People were too concerned with what someone else might think. It's sad. I don't think I could care less. Girls were fun to dance with, and they always smelled way better than guys.

The next steps seemed to confuse a few of the pairs, so we went over the until everyone got it down. I was pulling Beca closer to make her movements more smooth, but she kept stumbling whenever my hand slid around her back.

"Are you alright, Beca?" I was speaking quietly so no one else could hear. "You keep freezing up at this spot. Do you want me to go over it again?" I couldn't help but notice the light pink blush on her cheeks when she replied.

"No,Brittany, I've got it." She let out a nervous giggle. "This is what I meant by the whole left foot thing."

I glanced at the clock. 7:51.

"Alright guys, lets go trough this one more time, and then you can head out."

Once everyone finished, I swept up the room as fast as possible. It was 7:58. Which meant I had like thirty minutes to get home, shower, change, and get ready for Santana. I should have asked her to come over tomorrow so I could have had more time to get ready.

I locked my apartment door behind me and then sprinted to the bathroom. I ran the razor up the side of my legs and under my arms as my conditioner sat. _What should I wear? Jeans and a sweater. Yeah, that cute off-white sweater with my dark skinny jeans. Do I need to wear boots, too? No, that's dumb, I'll be inside. I'll wear my cozy socks so my feet stay warm. Oh no. I forgot to turn up the thermostat. She's gonna freeze. Maybe she'll dress warm so it won't matter, and if she is cold, she can wear something of mine. Yeah. Perfect._

I rinsed my hair and stepped out. My mirror was foggy from the steam and I need to put my makeup on before my clothes because I spill my foundation sometimes, and it is hard to wash off, so I decided to get my outfit ready. I turned up the heat, pulled out my clothes and wiped the remaining steam from my mirror. I checked the time on my phone.8:21. I quickly brushed my foundation on and applied a light champagne colored shadow. I just finished the last stroke of my mascara when I heard a knock at the door. I checked the time. 8:27.

I froze.

_Is it strange to answer the door in a towel?_

I'm not sure why I looked through the peephole. I knew it was going to be Santana. I just like to see what people are doing when you can see them but they can't see you. I wish I had a peephole in my room back home, so I could've caught Tubs reading my journal. He still denies it till the day.

*Knock Knock*

Oh, geez. Open the door.

I unlock the door and pulled it towards me so my body was covered.

"Hey! Come in" Santana stepped in until I had enough room to close the door. I heard her giggle and tilt her head to the side with a curious expression.

"Britt, why are you standing behind the door?"

"Oh...uhh, well I think I overestimated my quickness. I'm still kinda getting ready."

"That's fine. By all means." I don't think she knew I was just wearing a towel, because when I shut the door her mouth dropped open.

"Oh" Her voice sounded really raspy, and it made my toes curl. Her eyes flickered around my exposed chest and lingered at the top of the towel before snapping back up to mine. I felt my cheeks warm and started walking before she could notice.

"I'll be like two minutes. Make yourself at home." I shut my bedroom door and flung my towel carelessly against the floor. I don't think I've ever gotten dressed so quickly before in my entire life. I ran my fingers through my hair as I walked back into the living room.

Santana was sitting on the very edge of the couch, playing with her fingers. I think my voice scared her, because when I spoke she flew off the couch.

"Sorry about the whole towel thing. The whole way to the door I was wondering if it'd seem weird. But I didn't want to make you just stand outside my door and wait." She just nodded quickly.

" 's fine." She cleared her throat.

"Would you like a drink?"

"Oh, I actually brought you a bottle of wine. I was at the bar, and thought it seemed fitting." I took the bottle of white from her.

"Wow, very fancy. I've never been given a bottle of wine before. I feel very...adultish." Her face finally relaxed and she let a smile take over.

"Alright, I'm hungry, what're we making?" She looked at me like I had an answer to that question. I didn't

"Oh...uhh, I have no idea. Let's see what I have." We walked into the kitchen and I set the bottle of wine on the table.

"Okay, you check the fridge, I'll check the cabinets." After a couple of minutes of searching I spoke.

"Alright, I've got pasta, a can of tomato soup, brown sugar,peanut butter, brownie mix, black beans, and like 20 cans of chicken broth. Why the hell do I even have this." Santana's laugh echoed in the kitchen.

"Alright, Well, I've got mustard, cheese, bread, chipotle sauce, celery, carrots, ranch...and a can of chicken broth."

"I don't even remember putting that in there."

"Britt, what in the world do you eat?" Santana's face was priceless, I don't think I've ever seen her look so confused. I pulled open the freezer and pointed to a huge bag of frozen fruit, chicken, and ice cream.

"I don't really eat a lot. I forget I'm hungry a lot of the time." Santana's eyes flickered to my waist.

"This explains some things."

"Is the ice cream going straight to my thighs?" I looked down at my own legs in confusion. I heard a loud chuckle and looked up to see her smiling at me.

"No, Britt. It explains why you are so thin, aside from dancing that is."

"Phew. I was worried for a second. Okay, well what can we make with what we have?" Santana quirked her brow at the ingredients and finally spoke up.

"I think our only real option is a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup." She looked to me and shrugged her shoulders.

"Mmm, yes. I love these. My mom made the best grilled cheese, she never let me make them though because the first time I did, I almost burned down the house." Santana's eyes went wide in amusement. My eyes went wide because I never really talked about my mom. I didn't have anyone to talk to her about.

"Oh boy. Well, why don't you let me handle the stove? You can get the bread buttered and the cheese out. Where is your can opener?" Where _is _my can opener...

I pulled a couple of drawers open before i finally found it. Santana just giggled.

"How was your day? Anymore bigfoot sightings?" I looked to my side and saw her smile down at the can as she opened it.

"No, thank god. He must've ran back into the words after I so obviously shot him down." She looked up at me " I mean, he tried to start a conversation with me over a pencil. Is he twelve? Am I the first girl he has ever tried to flirt with. Ugh, and his roaming eyes, I swear I was about to smack him upside the head if he did stop ogling the twins." I couldn't help the way my eyes fell to her chest before I turned my attention back to her eyes. She really shouldn't bring them up in conversation if she doesn't want people to look.

"He must like big things. Maybe we should tell him to sit next to that girl who talks all of the time. Her nose is on the large side, but she is still pretty." Santana eyes went wide for the second time, but then she just let out a breathy laugh.

"You really do say the first thing that comes to mind, don't you." I tilted my head at her words.

"Is that a bad thing?" Her eyes met mine and she shook her head.

"No, I think it's wonderful." We were doing that thing again, where we just stared at each other smiling. Her brow was furrowed this time though, like she was going over a really hard math question in her head. She was probably good at math.

"You're so nice, Santana." She shook her head slowly.

"I'm not."

"You are, and we are in my apartment right now, so you have to believe it. Those are the rules." She quirked her brow.

"Is that so?"

"Sure is. Now chop-chop slow poke, I want to eat this stuff before New Years." She scoffed.

"You're not even done wi-" I pointed down to the four pieces of bread there were already butter and layered with cheese. "Oh, whatever." I giggled and hit my hip into hers. I grabbed a pan and she turned on the stove. The butter made a sizzling noise and I remembered how quiet it was.

"Oh, we should play music." I walked over the the table and turned on my laptop. I brought it into the kitchen and opened up pandora.

Santana was standing next to the stove with a spatula in hand.

_Wish I could take your lips with me_  
_On the road wherever I'd be _  
_I'd kiss you goodnight_  
_In a far and off moon light_

I twirled around her and grabbed two glasses from my shelf.

"Wish I could take your lips with me. Listen to your little voice sing. Along with the radio, a song that someone else wrote. But I don't care. I just need you here." I quietly sang along to the song as I poured the wine into each glass. Santana's back was to me and I saw here stir the soup and flip each sandwich.

_Wish I could take your eyes with me_  
_So you all the things I've seen_  
_My favorite Mexican bar_  
_Open air and big bright stars_

I got two plates and two bowls out and placed them next to her on the counter. She was standing in front of the drawer with utensils, so I gently placed my hands on her hips and shifted her to the side. I felt her body tense under my fingers. Her eyes snapped up to mine.

_Wish I could take your eyes so blue_  
_My second favorite part of you_

"Sor-sorry. I need to get spoons." I didn't have to talk loud at all because we were so close. I dropped my hands and turned away from her stare. I quickly grabbed two spoons and backed away. She placed a sandwich on each plate and poured the soup. I dropped the spoons in the bowls and we both picked up our food.

_Probably looking at some other man_  
_Southern Gentleman steal your hand_  
_Well I'll stand up_  
_And keep their mouths shut_

I walked into the living room and placed my food on the coffee table. I could still hear the song playing in the background, so I walked over and shut my computer. When I turned around I saw Santana crouching to sit on the floor.

"uh-uh. Get your butt on the couch. The floor is freezing." Santana smiled and sat on the couch instead. I dropped into the spot next to her and started eating.

"Wanna watch a movie?" She nodded, but she didn't make eye contact. I turned on the television and went to the movies on demand section. Her quiet voice surprised me.

"Can we watch a scary movie?" I turned my head to look at her, but she was staring at her soup. Soup isn't _that_ interesting.

"Yeah, of course. Which one?" She held her hand out for the remote and rifled through the names. _Dawn of The Dead._ She looked over at me for confirmation and I just nodded. "I've never seen it."

"It's freaky. One time Sam was sleeping over and we watched it...I woke up to him in my bed." She left out a little laugh. "He can't handle scary movies at all. It's adorable." Her eyes instantly brightened when she talked about him.

"I like Sam. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but he is definitely my favorite." I took another bite "Today I had them pair up, but I made them dance with people similar in size, so girls were with girls and guys were with guys." She looked up at me mid chew. "I was walking around fixing peoples posture, and some of the students were like, visibly uncomfortable with the fact that they were dancing with the same sex. Every guy, except Sam. That's why he's my favorite. He didn't care at all. No one should care, dancing or not." Santana dropped her gaze back to her food. She had a third of her sandwich left and half a bowl of soup. I was almost done with everything. "People are just people and no one should care." Santana put the rest of her food on the table, and so did I.

She pressed 'play' and sat back in the couch. I got up and went into my room to grab a blanket, and when I came back out, she was staring at the screen. Just like she stared at her soup. I sat down next to her, pulled my feet up, and placed half of the blanket over my body. She grabbed the other section and tucked her feet up under herself.

I looked over at her but before she caught me staring I flashed my eyes to the screen. A blonde woman way lying in bed with her husband and then a little girl stepped into the doorway with her head down. My apartment was so dark. The little girl on screen snapped her head up and there was blood covering the side of her neck. I when the little girl of screen jumped, I screamed and tucked my head in Santana's shoulder. I felt her body tense, but before I could move my head, she rested hers on top of mine. I felt a smile play at my lips.

This was just like last time. Except last time there were neck kisses. I ripped my head from its resting position and Santana snapped her head over to me.

"What in the world?" Her brow was furrowed and she had a little frown on her lips.

"Sorry...I just..."_Don't want you to regret anything like last time_ "slept weird last night and my neck is sore in that position." She rubbed at the side of her neck and nodded.

"Oh. Okay." I watched her turn her head towards the screen and bend each finger back and forth on her right hand. Alcohol helps with nerves. I got up a second time and grabbed the bottle of wine and each glass. She seems beyond relieved when I handed her a glass.

I spent the next hour telling myself to stay still during each scary scene, and not go near her again. I spent the hour after that finishing the bottle of wine with Santana. I think we both wanted the same thing. To relax.

I could feel the familiar warmth in the pit of my stomach as the wine worked its magic. When the credits rolled I looked over at Santana. Her eyelids were heavy and she rested her head back against the couch then turned to me. I mimicked her position.

"I would be the first person to die in a zombie apocalypse." Santana's eyes crinkled at the sides and a set of giggles wrestled her body. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. We both leaned in towards the center and of shoulder hit.

"I'd be a total badass. Kick alls theirs asses." We laughed again.

"Oh, please. You'd die on like the first day. You would think one of the zombies was checking you out, when really it was just the way it's neck was, and you'd start spewing off spanish profanity and get eaten." She lifted her hand to her chest like she was offended.

"Are you trying to say that I'm self-absorbed, or not good looking enough for a dead person?"

"Hmm...I think I'm saying that you're not a badass." I grinned at her and she lunged at me.

"I am a total it back!" He legs straddled my own and her hands attached themselves to my hips. Her fingers dug into my sides and I jerked uncontrollably. I looked up at her and slowly shook my head.

"Never!" Her fingers dug in again, except this time they didn't stop and I flung my body sideways to escape the tickles. My head hung off the side of the couch and my legs extended down the rest of it. One of Santana's legs rested beside my own thigh while the other rested directly on top of my lower stomach.

"Say I'm a badass." I shook my head violently through my laughter. My abs were so tired.

"Stop! St-st-stop!"

"Say I'm a badass! Say it and I'll stop." I shook my head again and Santana slowed her fingers. She lowered her upper body onto mine and hovered her head directly over my face. She was so close.

"Say it." I felt her breath splash across my face. Her fingers stopped completely and so did my laughing. I rearranged my head so it was on the cushion and looked up at her. In a quiet whisper, she rasped out.

"Say it."I shook my head.

Her face moved closer so our noses brushed and I felt my eyelids fighting to stay open. I wasn't expecting to hear my own voice.

"Do it." She blinked slowly and then even slower, she lowered her lips to mine. My eyes fluttered closed and I felt my breath hitch. Everything was completely still and then she pulled back just enough to pull my top lip between her own. I could feel my heart smashing against my chest. I pulled her bottom lip in between mine and sucked gently, and felt her weight fall completely on top of me. My hands moved from her arms to her hips. I wrapped them slowly around her waist and pressed the tips of my fingers into her lower back. Just like last time.

I was giving in to her. She could take whatever she wanted from me and I wouldn't mind.

Her lips pressed into mine and I kissed back even harder. I wanted her to know that I wanted this. I opened my lips slightly and felt her mouth shift against mine. Her lips released my top lip and attached onto my bottom. She was kissing me slowly, and tensely, and _beautifully._ I felt her hands crawl up from my sides and gracefully avoid my chest, to grasp at the back of my neck gently.

I wanted more of her.

I released her top lip and slowly ran the tip of my tongue along her bottom.

"_Uhhh_" Her quiet moan made my toes curl and my lower stomach burn. She opened her mouth and I dipped my tongue in. I felt her fingernails dig into the back of my neck. She liked this. So much.

Before I could move my tongue any further, she pushed it back into my mouth with her own. My fingertips pressed into her harder and I felt her whole body tense and then relax. A moan escaped my lips and she pulled her tongue back slowly. I followed it with my own and she whimpered against my lips. _So sexy_.

I never wanted to stop kissing her. Her lips were like little clouds that rained wine instead of water. I scratched my nails against the sliver of exposed skin on her back and she froze. I felt her pull her head back and when I opened my eyes her brow was furrowed and her eyes were glossy. I could see a tear fall over her eyelid and roll down her cheek. Followed by another. And another. Another. Another. Another.

I lifted my hand to the back of her neck and gently pulled her face closer to my chest. It was like everything inside her collapsed at the same time. Her muscles, her bones, her heart. Her body shook and her nose pressed into the side of my neck. I reached my hand down until I felt the material of the blanket and I pulled it over us. She didn't even flinch from my movements. She just cried.

I didn't want her to have to hear herself cry. She was already embarrassed enough.

"When you walked into class late on the first day, I knew that you were different. A good different. I also thought you were that girl from the show Pretty Little Liars, you're not obviously. You're Santana, and you're way better than her. I think Sam is super lucky to have you as a best friend, too. You are the girl that everyone wants to be best friends with because they know that you'll stick up for them no matter what. You're loyal, and smart, and funny. Maybe that's why I like you so much. I think you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, too. They are so dark, they almost look black. I don't think our eye colors could be anymore different. Maybe that's why I like them so much. When I told you I got a ninety three on my test, you didn't look surprised. You told me that you _knew_ I'd do well. No one ever tells me that. Maybe that's why I like you so much."

I could feel her breath start to slow along with the tears, but she was still shaking.

"I don't think I'm gay because I still think guys are cute and stuff, but I like kissing you. I've never kissed a girl before. I think I might be bisexual, but I don't really know. I just like people. Well, I've never really liked anyone other than you, but I think I could like a guy too. I think I'm supposed to feel really scared because when people realize that they might not fit into everyone's expectations its scary. I don't feel scared though. I guess I feel relieved in a sense. I just discovered this new part of myself, and I can't wait to explore it."

Santana's fingers kept bunch up sections of my shirt, tugging gently, then releasing. Over and over in the same spot. The leg that was resting on top of my stomach straightened out.

" I don't know what's going through your head, Santana, but I don't want you to feel scared. If that kiss didn't mean anything to you, I'll be really bummed, but I'll be okay, because I still want to be your friend no matter what. And if that kiss meant a lot to you, well, that'd be fine too. I just don't want you to be scared. Anytime you feel like kissing me, go right ahead and do it. I won't mind. And anytime you need space, well, that's okay too."

Her breaths were slow and uniform. I waited to see if she'd say anything but when I felt her legs curl over mine, and her arms loop across my waist, I knew she didn't have a clue what to say.. I reached into my pocket as carefully as I could and pulled out my phone. I made sure the alarm was set and placed it on the arm of the couch behind my head.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" I spoke as softly as I could. She didn't move or say anything, and I thought she had already fallen asleep, but then I felt a weak nod.

"Alright. I'm just gonna move you to my bed, okay? Because this couch is not comfortable and my bed will be way warmer." She just tightened her grip on my waist. I sat up and looped my arms around the top of her thighs. Her face burrowed into my neck when I stood. I bent down and grabbed the blanket and walked into my room.

"Do you want to borrow some clothes? A big tshirt?" She just nodded.

I placed her on the side of the bed and turned around to find some clothes for both of us to sleep in. I opened my dresser drawer and pulled out two huge t-shirts.

"I'll go brush my teeth." I took my shirt with me and gave her a little privacy. I don't think she would like me starting at her body after what just happened. When I walked back into my room in just my shirt and underwear, I saw her sitting on the side of my bed fiddling with her fingers.

I picked her jeans and shirt off of the floor and placed them in a chair on top of mine, then I walked over to the other side of the bed and got under the covers. She just sat there.

"I can sleep on the couch." I wasn't really sure what she wanted from me. The only thing I was sure of was the fact that she had no idea what she wanted either. She shifted under the covers and turned so her back was facing me.

"Goodnight, Santana" I was going to turn my back to her because I don't think she wanted me to look at her right now. But I didn't turn. I couldn't not look at her.

"I think you're wonderful. Just so you know." Everything was quiet and then I felt the bed shift. Her touch was so shaky and light. Like she was using all of her last energy to make contact. Her brow furrowed and her eyes were still glossy. Her pointer finger slowly ran from my forehead down the bridge of my nose. My eyes fluttered shut at her touch. Her fingertip dipped into the curve of my top lip and ran across the length of my bottom lip. I felt her eyes studying my face like I studied the Spanish words-like she didn't want to forget anything. Her touch ran up the side of my jaw and under my eye. When I opened my eyes, she was closer than I remembered and her brow was relaxed.

Goodnight, Brittany." And with that, she dropped her hand from my face and tucked her head into my neck.


	7. Chapter 7

**THE FISH IS NAMED MrPeanut .GOOD GOD.**

**Thanks for the reviews! Everyone who keeps saying fic needs more reviews is highly appreciated. I'm gonna keep writing no matter how many I have because it's fun, but reviews do make me smile!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee.  
**

**xSx**

I could hear her voice quietly singing along, and her feet sliding across the floor. I caught her form out of the corner of my eye, twirling around with two glasses in her hand. Her voice got louder and I could feel her front press into my back lightly and her hands land on my waist. I snapped my eyes up to hers and watched them widen.

_Wish I could take your eyes so blue_  
My second favorite part of you

The lyrics floated around my ears and everything sort of froze for a moment. Her eyes were my favorite. I liked her smile too. And her laugh.

She didn't keep her hands on me for very long. She just stuttered out an apology and slid them off of my waist. I liked having them there. Her hands felt different than Pucks. The way she presses them into my skin gently every time she hugs me is my favorite. Her hands feel especially nice when they scratch at the back of my neck like earlier, but I obviously wasn't about to tell her that.

I don't really know what to do around her sometimes. I mean, she told me she was attracted to me. I could feel my cheeks flush at just the thought. I kind of wanted to ask her about it. About how she is attracted to me. Does that mean she's like...a lesbian?

Not that i would care or anything.

I glanced over at her and just watched her for a while. I mean, she was really pretty. Anyone could see that. I traced the slope of her nose and lips with my eyes. I looked at the freckles that dusted her face and the way her blonde hair messily framed her jaw. I looked at the way her lips twitched into a smile for no reason at all. Well, maybe there was a reason. Could I be the reason? It was easy to get sucked into staring at her. It's like she doesn't understand how good looking she is.

She is good looking. She's beautiful.

The bread scratched my throat as I swallowed. My throat had been dry the moment she answered her door in a towel. The image of her standing in front of me, dripping wet ,with nothing but a towel on kept wandering into my mind, and every time it did I could feel my whole body warm up.

"It's freaky. One time Sam was sleeping over and we watched it...I woke up to him in my bed. He can't handle scary movies at all. It's adorable." I could feel her stare.

"I like Sam. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but he is definitely my I had them pair up, but I made them dance with people similar in size, so girls were with girls and guys were with guys."

I turned my head to the side and met her gaze.

"I was walking around fixing peoples posture, and some of the students were like, visibly uncomfortable with the fact that they were dancing with the same sex. Every guy, except Sam. That's why he's my favorite. He didn't care at all. No one should care, dancing or not. People are just people and no one should care."

I wanted to smile at her words, but her face stopped me from doing so. Her brow was sort of furrowed and her eyes looked a little less blue.

Everything felt the same. The couch, the food, the movie, the Brittany. She even tucked her head into my neck. It was nice. She was so nice and I wanted to ask her how she got to be so nice, but I don't think that question even makes sense. I felt her rip her head away from me, and couldn't stop the frown from forming on my face.

She didn't speak or touch me after that. I guess that is a good thing? Because last time she touched me I kissed her neck. I still don't even know why I did that. It felt like the right thing to do at the moment, and it was just a kiss. It wasn't even on the lips. It would be a whole different story if I had kissed her lips. I felt my body shudder at the memory. The way her lips ghosted around my neck and below my ear. I could feel the wine start to seep into my system.

"I would be the first person to die in a zombie apocalypse." I couldn't help but laugh at her words. She probably would feel bad to kill them, even though they're already dead.

Her head was resting on the back of couch and her cheeks were a little flush. The wine was hitting her too, and it was absolutely adorable.

"I'd be a total badass. Kick alls theirs asses." We both let out loud giggles.

"Oh, please. You'd die on like the first day. You would think one of the zombies was checking you out, when really it was just the way it's neck was, and you'd start spewing off spanish profanity and get eaten." She was probably right. Apparently I don't seem very badass to her. When she laughed at my response I couldn't stop the way I lunged at her. She made me feel like a little kid again.

My legs straddled her hips and my fingers found their way to her sides. She jerked around and her cheeks flushed pink. Her body twisted and extended down the couch.

"Say I'm a badass. Say it." I couldn't help but smile at her. I haven't had a tickle fight in like two years. The last time someone actually tickled me, it was Sam, and we were both completely wasted. Now I was on top of Brittany and just buzzed. Her smile was all teeth and I couldn't help but smile down at her. It was like her happiness was infectious. It was so hard not to smile around Brittany when she made me feel so happy.

She shook her head quickly from side-to-side. Her leg jerked and I felt her thigh press in between my legs. I could feel myself throb against her. _oh god._ I leaned forwards to try to escape the pressure before I started rocking my hips, but the closer I got to her face, the closer I wanted to be. It was like her blue eyes put me in a trance.

"Say it" As soon as I spoke, everything changed. The playful laughter died down. It was just me and her. I could feel her breath on my face. I moved closer until our noses brushed and felt my stomach drop. _God, what the fuck am I doing._ Her eyes were _so_ blue from this close up. I could feel her muscles tighten under me.

I knew exactly what I was doing. I knew what was going to happen. I knew that in this moment everything was about to change because I didn't just _think_ she was attractive.

"Do it." Her words were quiet. Her breath tickled my lips. I could see the way her eyes fought to stay open. She was intoxicating. Everything about her. Her breath, her eyes, her smell, her laugh. Everything.

I lowered my lips to hers and watched her eyes flutter close.

She was so soft. Her lips moved around mine with a gentle ease and her hands wrapped around my waist tugging me closer into her. Her kisses made my body feel like it was on fire.

I felt her tongue glide across my bottom lip and felt a moan bubble up through my throat. Everything felt different with her. Everything felt soft and delicate. I pushed my tongue into her mouth and could feel my lower stomach burn. I was so warm.

Her nails on my back snapped me back to reality.

I was on top of a girl. On top of Brittany.

I pulled away from her and watched as her eyes slowly opened. If my parents ever knew about _this. _If _anyone _ever knew about this, what would they say?

I felt the familiar sting at the back of my eyes. I hated that I had alcohol in my system right now. It was the reason I could keep my tears at bay, well, I think it was the reason at least. She didn't say anything about my tears, she just pulled me into her chest. I couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't do anything other than cry. Her words were so soft. I couldn't tell if my body wanted to pull away from her or get completely swallowed up by her.

"I think I'm supposed to feel really scared because when people realize that they might not fit into everyone's expectations its scary. I don't feel scared though. I guess I feel relieved in a sense. I just discovered this new part of myself, and I can't wait to explore it." It was like every single word she said held me together. The way her voice floated through the air around my ears and how her arms wrapped securely around me-everything about her calmed me down.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" My cheek stuck to her as I nodded. She never let go of me as she sat up. I tried to move my legs to stand but I couldn't force myself to let go of her. She was the only thing here for me to hold onto. She picked me up and walked me into her bedroom. I let go of her neck and dropped my eyes to the floor. She handed me a big shirt and left the room.

The material of her shirt felt heavy to my weak muscles. Everything felt heavy.

Brittany walked back in and pulled the covers back. She faced me but I didn't look up at her, I just shifted under the covers and faced the wall.

"I think you're wonderful. Just so you know." I could hear her voice waiver.

I rolled around and faced her. Her blue eyes were a little glossy and she wasn't smiling at all. She was just looking at me. I traced my finger down her profile and around her cheek. Her skin was warm under my fingertips.

"Goodnight, Brittany." I tucked my head into her neck and felt her exhale a slow breath. I kept my eyes open and stared at the way her skin stretched across her collar bones. I stared at the freckles that littered her chest. I stared at her until her breathing changed.

As slowly as I could, I pulled away from her. Her mouth was open slightly and every once in a while her lips would twitch. I looked down between our bodies. She was turned completely over with one hand tucked under her head one laying limp against her abdomen. The blankets were bundled at her waist and I watched a layer of goosebumps line her skin. As gently as I could, I shifted her arm higher and then tugged the comforter up to her neck.

"Hmmmm." She let out a quiet sigh and I froze. I waited for her eyes to open, but they never did.

I rolled over onto my back and looked up at her ceiling. The only light source in her room was coming from her window, so I couldn't make out any sort of detail really. I could leave right now and deal with everything tomorrow, but I didn't move.

My lips still burned from her kisses. I lifted my left hand to my face and ran the pad of my finger across my mouth. I don't think I've ever felt this lost before. I let out a soft sigh and felt the bed shift. I could feel my entire body tense at the contact. Her arms ran across my stomach under the blankets and once she reached my side, she pulled me tighter into her chest. Her face tucked into the corner of my neck so her nose pressed gently into the lobe of my ear.

My fingers traced over her arm and then lay directly on top of it. In a way, everything felt better when she was touching me. Less scary.

I dragged my fingertips up and down the length of her forearm until my arm got tired.

Her voice was so quiet.

"That felt good." I turned my head to look at her and had to pull back slightly.

"I didn't mean to wake you up." She just smiled a little bit and then closed her eyes again.

"It's okay. I'll fall asleep again eventually." There was a little trace of rasp in her voice from sleep.

"Okay."

"Have you been awake this whole time?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to move my arm?"

"No."

It was simple really. Chances of me falling asleep were zero to none. Chances of me liking to cuddle with her were high.

I started to move my fingers back up and down her arm but she stopped me. She moved her arm and rolled so she was on her back lying next to me.

"Here I know how to get you to fall asleep." I looked sideways at her profile. She motioned for me to lie on her chest. I turned towards her and placed my head on her chest. She pulled the blankets up to my shoulders and placed one hand at the back of my neck and the other on my hip, pulling me closer into her chest.

Her fingertips gently scraped from the base of my neck to my hairline. I closed my eyes at the sensation. Up and down. Up and down.

"When I was little I used to always be really scared that a monster was under my bed at night, so I'd stand up on the middle of the mattress and get a running start, and then I'd hop as far away from my bed as possible and run to my parents room." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "My mom was always awake when I got there because she could hear me jump." I could hear her voice change. It always got a little bit softer when she talked about her mom. "My dad never woke up, but my mom would always carry me back to my room and get under the covers with me. I would lay my head on her chest and snuggle into her side and she would run her fingers through my hair and down my neck." I felt her fingers go higher and gently pull my hair and scratch my scalp. "Once I realized that she would always play with my hair, I started doing it every night." She let out a little giggle and I could feel the vibrations tickle my cheek. "I think she caught on, but she never said anything." After she said that, she stopped talking. The room was so quiet and I was about to speak up but she stopped me.

"She made me feel so safe, you know? She was like a life-sized Band-Aid." I felt my throat start to tighten when she said that. This was the most she had ever talked about her mom. The words just kept flowing out of her, so I just put a little bit more weight on her and listened.

"I would always fall asleep cuddled into her side and then when I woke up in the morning I'd be alone. One time she slept next to me the whole night but I told her that she could leave once I was asleep because I only needed her to show all of the monsters not to mess with me." She took in a deep breath and my face rose and fell with her lungs. "Except, sometimes I still get scared of monsters." She lifted her hand off my hip and brought it to her face and as she was putting it back I saw it glimmer in the moonlight.

I instantly pulled my face up from her chest and looked at her. She had a steady stream of tears falling from her eyes.

"oh, Britt." It was a whisper. She turned to face me and started wiping at the tears. At first she was being gentle, but then her movements got quicker and harder. I gently wrapped my fingers around her wrist to still her hands.

"Hey, hey, please don't." I could feel her struggle from my grip, but I just held her tighter.

"Please let go. This is so embarrassing." Her words were all gurgled together, and right in that moment, my heart broke for her.

Her tears were getting heavier and heavier. I released my grip on her wrist and sat up. Her other hand immediately flew up and cover her face. She shouldn't be embarrassed. She was sad. This was sad. I heard her try to tell me something but I couldn't make it out.

Her shoulders shook and she spoke up again.

"P-please stop looking at m-m-me." all of her words were mashed together and wet. Her body shook with each cry, so I did the first thing that came to mind.

I slowly lifted my leg and placed it on the other side of her. I laced my fingers around her wrists again and pulled them away from her face, but before she could say anything, I tucked my arms around her neck and lay completely on top of her. She didn't fight me; she just wrapped her arms around my lower back and pulled me into her as she cried.

I turned my head and spoke directly into her ear.

"I'm so sorry, Brittany. I'm so, so sorry." Her body shook. "You don't deserve any of this. You are amazing, and so nice, and sweet, and perfect, and you don't deserve this." I wasn't really sure what I was doing or if she was even listening, but I continued anyways. "You are so smart, and funny and interesting." Her crying started to slow. "You are thoughtful, and witty, and…and beautiful. God, you're so _beautiful." _I pulled my head away to look at her. Her eyes were closed a little bit too tightly so they crinkled and they were puffy. I could see the tear marks all over her cheeks and as gently as I could, I pulled my hand out from around her and gathered up all of the remaining tears with my thumb.

I could hear her breathing start to even out and before I knew what was happening, I was inching my lips closer to her for the second time tonight.

I dragged them from the side of her jaw to the apple of her cheek and kissed her. I kissed her on the cheek and then I kissed her on the side of the nose. She opened her eyes and I kissed her on the forehead and then on the temple, and felt her bunch up the material of my shirt in her hands.

I bumped her nose with mine and looked her in the eyes. Her eyes were glossy and my words were quiet.

"I don't know what I'm doing." And then I shut my eyes and kissed her on the lips for the second time.

I just pressed my lips against hers and waited a second. All it took was the slight shift of her bottom lip, and I was on fire.

She sucked on my bottom lip and I pulled her even closer to me. I've kissed quite a few people, and they've never felt anything like this. They've never sparked like this.

Her lips were salty from the tears. I flicked my tongue out and traced her top lip wanting to taste even more of her. She separated her lips instantly and moaned as I licked the roof of her mouth. The way she didn't fight to control the kiss and try to stick her tongue down my throat made me realize just how much I liked how she kissed. It was nothing like a guy. It was soft but intense.

I slowed down my lips until I was just hugging her top lip between mine. All sorts of question were running around in my head. Like, what does this mean? Or, why am I doing this? Especially, do my kisses make her feel like I do right now? Feel hot?

I released her lips and rolled off of her to sit by her side. I wasn't really sure what just happened. Well, I mean I know what just happened, but I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do now.

Brittany's eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to the side to look at me. Her eyebrow quirked up on one side and she just stared. She didn't look happy or mad…she just looked confused.

"Was I not supposed to do that?" I winced at my own words and ran my hands through my hair. She didn't respond. It was like I could hear a clock ticking inside of my head.

_One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten._

I felt my cheeks start to flush.

I slid off of her bed and grabbed my jeans. The material felt stiff and cold when I pulled them up my legs. _Jesus, Santana. What the fuck is wrong with you?_ I looked up at Brittany and it was like she was in shock. I could see her legs move underneath the blankets and then still.

"I'm sorry for-I'll see you tomorrow." I walked out of her room as fast as possible. I don't think I even breathed until I was in my own apartment.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh god." I could feel my chest start to tighten. It was stupid to kiss her like that. To kiss her when she was crying.

**xBx**

My shoes made a squeaky noise every time I took another step. I could feel my hair sticking to my cheek from the rain and my jeans felt a little bit too tight. It started raining when I was half way to school and I didn't have my umbrella. I was going to turn around to go get it, but I would get just as wet if I went halfway back or halfway forward. And I didn't want to miss class. Well, I didn't want to miss Santana. My classes are kinda boring and I'd much rather study her.

"Ew." I cringed at how weird that sounded in my head. The guy walking next to me in the hallway looked at me with a curious expression. I just started walking faster.

The closer I got to Psychology, the more nervous I got. I wasn't sure if I wanted to smile or pout. I wonder what my face looked like right now. I probably looked bipolar bear.

I didn't mean to be that awkward person that cries in front of people and then expects them to know what to do. That was weird. I'm weird.

I turned into the classroom and saw her sitting with her head in her hand staring at the desk. She didn't make any eye contact. I leaned over and whispered into her ear so no one else could hear.

"I'm sorry for last night. I didn't mean to freeze up like a popsicle. I just didn't think you'd kiss me again. Not that I don't like your kisses. Because I totally do, they are super soft and perfect. Oh, and I'm sorry about crying. I don't really cry a lot and I guess my heart dam cracked a little bit. You were super nice, though." All of my words were hushed and quick. Did any of that make sense?

She nodded her head once and then twice. And then she looked over at me. Her eyes shifted around before settling on my desk.

"I don't usually-I'm not-I just didn't want you to be sad." Her words were really quiet and really raspy. She hadn't smiled at me yet.

"Well, you definitely cheered me up…so." Her cheeks turned red. I could see her blush spread around her neck. I wasn't really sure what she meant when she said that.

"Good."

"Good." I mimicked her.

"Yeah, good."

"Yup, good." She rolled her eyes and smiled. I bumped her shoulder with my own.

"So, we're good?" I wanted to make sure.

"We're good."

"Geez, pick a new word, Santana." I tried to keep a straight face but I couldn't help but smile when she laughed.

"You're ridiculous." I rested my head on my fist and looked at her.

"Yeah, ridiculously funny."

"Whatever you say." I could see her try to hide a smile.

"Don't hate the player, Santana. Hate the game." The corners of her mouth raised a little and she shook her head.

"Weirdo."

"There's no I in team, Santana." Her smile widened and it was really hard to keep a straight face.

"You're crazy."

"Give a man a fish he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll buy a pole." Her laugh was loud and absolutely adorable. She covered her face with her hand and her shoulders shook. I saw a few people turn their heads, but she didn't notice.

"Whoa, calm down Santana…Cahraaazy." I drew out the word and fought off a smile. She moved her hand and giggled out in the open. All of her teeth were showing. She has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.

Her laughter was dying down so I just smiled at her and took out a notebook. I could see her looking at me from the corner of my eye, but I just faced forward and listened to Professor Hudson begin class.

Half way through class she leaned over and whispered into my ear.

"You know, it's teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime." I turned to her and shrugged my shoulders.

"I like my way more."

"Yeah, me too." She didn't say anything to me until class was over and we were walking out the door towards Spanish.

"You should come out to the bar tonight. Drinks are half price. Well, I mean, yours are on the house." She kept looking forward.

"I would but I have to perform my routine this Friday and I need to practice." She glanced over at me.

"Oh, okay."

"You're always welcome to come by the studio. Not that you'd want to, it's probably boring."

"Yeah right. I love watching you dance." Her brow furrowed and then released. "I mean, like, you're really good." She faced forward again.

"Well, I'll be at the studio every night around eight soooo you should dance with me. I can teach you how to...hmm…Oh! I can teach you what I'm covering in class so you can help Sam." She laughed at that idea.

"Hah, as much as he probably needs that help, I doubt I could learn any dance."

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me." We stopped in front of my Spanish class. I'm pretty sure I could smell Mr. Schue's hair gel from the hall.

"I'll let you know."

My hands fell limp at my side and I could see her tighten her grip on her books. _Just hug her like you always do_. I rolled onto the heel of my foot and then sprung forward and wrapped my arms around her lower back.

"See you later." I spoke into the shell of her ear and then pulled away. She looked at the ground and nodded. I pulled on the straps of my backpack and walked into class.

**xSx**

I lifted the bottle of gin straight up and down and waited for the last drip before stirring it around and sliding it across the bar.

"Thanks, babe." This was his fifth drink so his words just slurred into one. I leaned over the wooden bar, smirked at him, grabbed the ten out of his hand and slid it into my bra. I watched his eyes follow the bill.

It was a Monday night, so the bar was pretty dead. There were a few regulars at their tables, and then this clown who looks like he has a long family history of hypertension.

I looked at the clock. 8:53. Which means that Blaine is going to be here in seven minutes. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and sent Sam a text.

Get off in ten. Walk me home?-Santana

I looked up and saw Quinn staring at me so I picked up a cloth and cleaned the bar. I am not in the mood for some stupid bitchy comment from her.

On my way-Sam

I saw Blaine walk in and let out a sigh. Finally. A slow night at work is a low-paying night at work, and I really need to buy some new acrylic paints. Shit's expensive.

"Hello, Santana. Oh, your skin is looking flawless, are you using the moisturizer I gave you?" He is always so freakin happy. I feel like I'm talking to a puppy.

"I am. Even though I already was flawless." He just raised his eyebrows and smiled. I could never tell if he was going to keep talking or not. I nodded and when I was about to turn around I felt arms wrap around me and lift me off the ground. I squealed, even though I knew it was Sam. He's the only person whose ass I won't kick for touching me.

"Someone's been eating a lot of peanut butter recently…" His words were playful but I still blindly slapped my hand behind my body to hit him.

"Somebody's been slacking on their curls." He put me down and I turned to face him. His ginormous smile was taking up his whole face. Without looking back at the bar I yelled out to Quinn that I was leaving.

Sam and I walked into my place and he instantly crashed on the couch.

"Pick a movie. I'm gonna go shower." I stripped my shirt off before I even got to the bathroom. I removed all of my makeup and turned the water on. I peeled everything else off and looked at my body in the mirror. I turned sideways and noticed that my ribs stuck out more than usual. I wasn't eating too much like Sam said, he was joking. I tried to think back to what I ate today, but I couldn't think of anything except coffee and a banana. My mind was sidetracked with other things, other people. One person.

The warm water seeped down my legs and pooled at my feet. I squeezed a generous amount of conditioner in my hand, but as soon as I touched my hair, I pictured her hands. I scratched at the back of my head like she did last night, but it wasn't the same.

I shut my eyes and tilted my head back. I felt weird thinking about her when I was naked and wet. Does she think about me when she showers?

I shook my head to get rid of the thought and rinsed the conditioner out of my hair.

I pulled a shirt and hoodie on and some sweats, combed my hair, and walked back out to the living room. I could hear him in the kitchen. I looked at the movie he picked on screen. _Black Swan._

Him and Mila Kunis. I swear.

I pulled the blanket off of the back of my couch and laid it over my legs. The couch dipped when he sat down. He handed me the plate. A turkey and cheese sandwich with two pickles, lettuce, thinly sliced tomatoes, and pepper.

"Ahh, you know me so well." He just smiled and pressed play. I finished the food and put my plate on the coffee table. I leaned my back down onto the couch and stretched my legs out over his lap. He didn't even flinch. He just adjusted the blanket so my feet were covered and turned back to the movie.

"This movie is really fucking weird." He nodded.

"Yeah, but Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman apparently have a super-hot lesbian scene." I felt my heart speed up a little bit. Did Brittany and I have a super-hot lesb-No. Jesus.

I wasn't even trying to follow the story anymore. I was waiting for this scene.

"I wonder if Brittany can dance like this." I snapped my eyes over to him but didn't say anything.

Now I was waiting for the scene _and_ thinking about Brittany. And then it happened on screen, and I thought about Brittany doing _that _to _me. _

I don't even remember the ending.

Sam followed me into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush. He tipped his head back and started talking.

"I don ge wha apen. Bu it wa ha inna weepy wa" _I don't get what happened, but it was hot in a creepy way._

I spit, rinsed my mouth out and waited until he did the same.

"It's cold in here." He didn't wait for further explanation; he knew that I was telling him he could sleep in my bed.

He pulled my sheets back and got in first, holding them up so I could slip in. I turned on my side and he copied my movements. The heat coming from his body felt soothing against my back so I slid back into him. His arm wrapped around my side and his hand hit the bottom of my breast.

"Sorry." He whispered out an apology and moved his hand lower so it rested under my ribcage.

"Goodnight, San. Love you." I smiled at his words. He always told me he loved me when he slept over. Actually, he is the only one who tells me that anymore.

"I Love you too." I could feel his arm start to get heavier with each passing second until he was asleep. I grabbed his hand and pulled it into my chest and shut my eyes. It wasn't sexual between the two of us. It was comforting.

I could feel his breath hit the back on my neck and his crotch rest against my upper thighs. I could feel parts of his fingers press into my boobs because I was holding him close.

I wasn't pulling him closer to me because I wanted him like that. I was pulling him closer to me because I knew that if a different blonde was touching me like this my heart would be beating really fast and my nerves would be sparking with excitement. There would be goosebumps lining my skin and my stomach would be fluttering.

Just the thought of having…of having her behind me, touching me like this, made it impossible to sleep.

I slid my hand across the bed and grabbed my phone. It was late. 1:43.

Do you do ballet?-Santana.

I sent the text to Brittany and waited. She is probably already asleep.

1:46. My screen lit up.

When I was little I was a ballerina. Why?-Brittany

I furrowed my brow. I wasn't really sure why I asked.

I don't know. I was just wondering.-Santana.

Her response was instantaneous.

It's nice to have someone wonder about me.-Brittany.

My heart started to pick up speed. I typed out a reply but hesitated over the send button.

Well, there's a lot to wonder about with you.-Santana.

What does that mean?-Brittany

I don't know. You're just different.-Santana

As soon as I sent it I started typing out another message.

A good different! Like a quirky and interesting different.-Santana

I mentally face-palmed myself.

You think I'm quirky and interesting?-Brittany

Yeah, I do.-Santana

She didn't respond quickly like last time. I heard my phone buzz and when I looked at the screen I saw an incoming call from her. I tipped my head back towards Sam. I accepted the call.

"Hey." I was whispering.

"Hey, why are you talking so quietly?" I smiled at the way her voice got quieter as she spoke.

"Sam is sleeping right next to me. I don't want to wake him up."

"Oh, sorry. I can hang up?" I psychically shook my head.

"No! No, it's okay."

"Good. I'm just way better at talking than I am at texting. Spelling is not really my thing." She was whispering now too.

"Spelling isn't my thing either so that's okay. We make up for it with our looks." I could hear her giggle.

"Wake Sam up so I can agree with him about your ego." I let out a little laugh as quietly as possible.

"Fine, okay. I have an ego. I get it, I get it."

"Well, if I looked like you I would too." I felt my face heat up.

"Britt, you're like…way prettier than I am." I could feel my hands start to sweat from how honest I was being.

"No, I'm…I'm always cute. That's it. You can switch from cute to sexy like super-fast. And no matter what you're always breathtaking." My throat felt dry from her words.

"Have you seen yourself dance?" My voice got a little higher.

"Well, yeah, there are mirrors all around me. Why?"

"No, I mean…you are- I just don't think you realize how beautiful you are. Especially when you dance. When you dance it's like…oh, I don't know…" My sentence started to die out.

"When I dance it's like what?" Her voice was curious.

"I don't know. When you dance it's like...It's like you show every single side of yourself or something. Like everything you are is just right out in the open for everyone to see. I could watch you dance all day. It's…you give me goosebumps…" I shut my eyes and waited to hear how she would react to that.

"Do you really mean that?" Her voice sounded really soft.

"Yeah, I do."

"Santana?"

"Hmm?"

"You make me really happy." My heart slowed down and then started smashing into my chest.

"You make me really happy, too."


End file.
